Can Bitcoin Improve Election Integrity?
The adoption of Simple Proof, the Bitcoin based timestamping system, used by Screven County, in Georgia, in the US last year, marks a notable advancement in election security. Offering a tamper-evident, independently verifiable record of results without exposing sensitive data, the method anchors cryptographic hashes of election documents to Bitcoin’s decentralised ledger. In doing so it ensures transparency, safeguards against post-election alterations, and reduces reliance on vulnerable centralised systems. This approach mirrors Simple Proof’s earlier success in Guatemala’s 2023 presidential election, where it protected over 150,000 tally sheets amid political tension and institutional distrust, a process later documented in Immutable Democracy. Both cases illustrate how decentralised, blockchain-based verification can enhance trust in democratic processes, potentially serving as a scalable model for securing elections worldwide and inspiring broader reforms in public recordkeeping, though its global impact depends on the willingness of authorities to embrace transparency.
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