# Enable mobile voting for service members stationed abroad

> 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.

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

Canonical URL: https://www.sapientblock.com/en/use-cases/voatz-stimmabgabe-soldaten-ausland-mobil-ermoeglichen

## Documentation status

- **Project status:** Discontinued
- **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.

## Benefits

- A documented lesson on security and audit requirements in state elections.
- Timely voting for voters living or stationed abroad.
- 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.
- Experience for evaluating technical election procedures in administration.

## Challenges

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

## Sources

- [West Virginia says 144 people voted using mobile blockchain app](https://statescoop.com/west-virginia-says-144-people-voted-using-mobile-blockchain-app/)
- [West Virginia Becomes First State to Test Mobile Voting by Blockchain in a Federal Election](https://www.govtech.com/biz/West-Virginia-Becomes-First-State-to-Test-Mobile-Voting-by-Blockchain-in-a-Federal-Election.html)
- [The FBI is investigating West Virginia's blockchain-based midterm elections](https://qz.com/1574671/the-fbi-is-investigating-west-virginias-blockchain-based-midterm-elections)
- [What Really Happened With West Virginia's Blockchain Voting Experiment?](https://slate.com/technology/2019/07/west-virginia-blockchain-voting-voatz.html)