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Voting over a Distributed Ledger: An interdisciplinary perspective

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  • Dhillon, Amrita
  • Kotsialou, Grammateia
  • McBurney, Peter
  • Riley, Luke

Abstract

This work discusses the potential of a blockchain based infrastructure for a decentralised online voting platform. When compared to paper based voting, online voting can vastly increase the speed that votes can be counted, expand the overall accessibility of the election system and decrease the cost of turnout. Yet despite these advantages, online voting for political office is subject to fraud at various levels due to its centralised nature. In this paper, we describe a general architecture of a centralised online voting system and detail which areas of such a system are vulnerable to electoral fraud. We then proceed to introduce the key ideas underlying blockchain technology as a decentralised mechanism that can address these problems. We discuss the advantages and weaknesses of the blockchain technology, the protocols the technology uses and what criteria a good blockchain protocol should satisfy (depending on the voting application). We argue that the decentralisation inherent in the blockchain technology could increase the public's trust in national elections, as well as eliminate voter impersonation and double voting. We conclude with a discussion regarding how economists and social scientists can collaborate with the blockchain community in a research agenda on the design of efficient blockchain protocols and new voting systems such as liquid democracy.

Suggested Citation

  • Dhillon, Amrita & Kotsialou, Grammateia & McBurney, Peter & Riley, Luke, 2020. "Voting over a Distributed Ledger: An interdisciplinary perspective," SocArXiv 34df5_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:34df5_v1
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/34df5_v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Nicolaus Tideman, 1995. "The Single Transferable Vote," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 27-38, Winter.
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    4. Budish, Eric B., 2018. "The Economic Limits of Bitcoin and the Blockchain," Working Papers 279, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    5. Eric Budish, 2018. "The Economic Limits of Bitcoin and the Blockchain," NBER Working Papers 24717, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Yusuf Neggers, 2018. "Enfranchising Your Own? Experimental Evidence on Bureaucrat Diversity and Election Bias in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(6), pages 1288-1321, June.
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