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Enable mobile voting for service members stationed abroad

Sector: Tertiary sector · Industry: Government agencies and public administration · Organisation: Voatz, Inc. · Maturity level: Pilot

The Secretary of State of West Virginia, together with vendor Voatz, enabled mobile voting for overseas citizens and service members stationed abroad in 2018. The app verifies identity through photo ID and selfie matching plus multi-factor authentication and anchors the submitted ballot in a permissioned blockchain, while the election office receives a printable ballot for the count. In the November 2018 midterms, 144 people from 31 countries successfully cast a ballot; after sustained security criticism the approach was not moved into regular operation.

Documentation status

• Project status: Discontinued — Following the midterm elections in November 2018 and ongoing security criticism, the approach in West Virginia was not transitioned into regular operation.
• Evidence: Evidence medium
• Editorial review: pending

Description

The Secretary of State of West Virginia, together with the provider Voatz, enabled mobile voting in 2018 for overseas voters and soldiers stationed abroad. This voter group otherwise votes by postal ballot, where delivery times and issues often cause ballots to arrive late, resulting in low turnout. The app verifies identity via photo ID and selfie matching and anchors the vote in an access-restricted blockchain, while the election authority receives a printable ballot for counting.

The state announced the project in early 2018 and conducted a pilot in two counties in May of the same year, accompanied by four independent audits. In the November 2018 midterm elections, the app was available to voters from 24 counties, and according to the Secretary of State, 144 people from 31 countries successfully cast their votes, many of them active US military personnel. Voters registered by uploading a selfie and photo ID and had to undergo multi-factor authentication for registration. This was the first use of blockchain-supported mobile voting in a US federal election. During the 2018 midterms, there was an attempted attack on the system, which failed and was investigated by the FBI. Later independent security analyses strongly criticised the procedure, and the approach was not transitioned into regular operation in West Virginia; therefore, the case should explicitly be considered with this caveat.

Perspectives

B2B — organisations perspective

For providers and authorities, the case is primarily a lesson on the high security and audit requirements for state elections and that a functioning pilot alone does not demonstrate operational maturity. Organisations considering electronic voting procedures should plan for independent verifiability from the outset.

B2C — consumers perspective

For voters living or stationed abroad, dependence on postal delivery times was eliminated, ensuring the vote arrived on time. This was countered by security criticisms expressed in independent analyses.

Employees perspective

For election authorities, work shifts from organising postal delivery times to evaluating technical procedures and their audit reports. IT security officers in administration need the ability to independently verify manufacturer claims rather than accept them at face value.

Benefits

General

• 144 voters from 31 countries were able to cast their votes without relying on postal delivery times.
• It was the first use of blockchain-supported mobile voting in a US federal election.
• The pilot was accompanied by four independent audits.
• The election authority received a printable ballot as a fallback option for the count.

B2B — organisations

• A documented lesson on security and audit requirements in state elections.

B2C — consumers

• Timely voting for voters living or stationed abroad.

Employees

• Experience for evaluating technical election procedures in administration.

Challenges

General

• Later independent security analyses criticised the procedure significantly.
• During the 2018 midterm elections, there was an unsuccessful attack attempt investigated by the FBI.
• The approach was not transitioned into regular operation in West Virginia.

B2B — organisations

• A successfully conducted pilot does not demonstrate operational maturity in election procedures.

Employees

• Administrations must be able to independently verify manufacturer information instead of simply adopting it.

Technology foundation

Voatz uses a restricted-access blockchain in which the cast vote is anchored, combined with identity verification via photo ID, selfie comparison and multi-factor authentication. The register is intended to ensure that a vote once cast cannot be altered unnoticed; the actual counting still takes place based on a printable ballot at the election authority.

Implementation examples

Mobile voting for overseas voters in the 2018 midterm elections

Overseas soldiers and expatriates vote by postal ballot; delays and delivery issues cause ballots to arrive late, resulting in low turnout for this group in 2016.

Voatz provided the West Virginia Secretary of State with a mobile voting app for overseas voters and soldiers stationed abroad. In the November 2018 midterms, 144 people from 31 countries cast their votes.

In May 2018, a pilot ran in two counties, accompanied by four independent audits; in the November midterms, the application was available to eligible voters in 24 counties. Registration involved uploading a selfie and a photo ID, login used multi-factor authentication; the vote was anchored in a permissioned blockchain, while the election authority received a printable ballot for counting. During the midterms, there was an unsuccessful attack attempt investigated by the FBI; later independent security analyses criticised the procedure significantly, and the approach was not adopted for regular use.

144 votes cast from 31 countries in the November 2018 midterm elections; used in 24 counties.

Delayed or undelivered postal ballots for overseas voters, low turnout among this group, and protecting the cast vote against subsequent alteration.

Tags

Elections, Public administration, Mobile application, Identity verification, Security criticism

Sources

1. West Virginia says 144 people voted using mobile blockchain app
2. West Virginia Becomes First State to Test Mobile Voting by Blockchain in a Federal Election
3. The FBI is investigating West Virginia's blockchain-based midterm elections
4. What Really Happened With West Virginia's Blockchain Voting Experiment?