#election platform

Introduction

As technology continues to advance, the traditional methods of voting are being challenged by the promise of more efficient, accessible, and secure online voting systems. Over the years, we have witnessed a significant evolution in the way electronic voting (e-voting) systems have been developed and deployed. One of the most promising innovations in this field is the integration of blockchain technology into the voting process. In this blog post, we will explore the key milestones in the evolution of online voting systems, from the early days of e-voting to the emergence of blockchain-based voting platforms.

E-Voting: The Dawn of Digital Voting

The concept of electronic voting, or e-voting, can be traced back to the 1960s, when punch-card systems were first introduced in some parts of the United States. These early attempts at digitalizing the voting process aimed to streamline the counting of votes and reduce human errors. However, it soon became evident that e-voting systems had several vulnerabilities, leading to concerns about the accuracy and integrity of election results.

DRE (Direct Recording Electronic) Voting Systems

In the late 20th century, Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting systems emerged as a popular alternative to traditional paper-based voting. DRE systems allowed voters to cast their ballots electronically by interacting with a touchscreen or push-button interface. While DRE systems offered faster results and improved accessibility for voters with disabilities, they faced serious criticism due to their lack of a paper trail, making them susceptible to hacking and manipulation.

Online Voting: Convenience and Challenges

The internet age brought with it the possibility of remote online voting, promising unparalleled convenience for voters. In the early 2000s, several countries and organizations experimented with online voting systems, primarily for low-stakes elections or to enable overseas citizens to cast their ballots. However, security concerns remained a significant challenge, with the potential for cyberattacks and voter authentication issues.

Blockchain-Based Voting: A New Paradigm

The advent of blockchain technology introduced a potential game-changer for online voting systems. Blockchain's decentralized, immutable, and transparent nature addresses many of the security and trust issues faced by traditional e-voting systems. In a blockchain-based voting platform, each vote is recorded as a transaction on the blockchain, making it tamper-proof and ensuring a verifiable, auditable trail of all votes.

Key Benefits of Blockchain-Based Voting Systems

Security: Blockchain's cryptographic features make it extremely difficult for malicious actors to tamper with votes or compromise the integrity of the election.

Transparency: The transparent nature of the blockchain allows all stakeholders to audit and verify the voting process, enhancing trust in the system.

Anonymity and Privacy: Blockchain-based voting systems can be designed to ensure voter anonymity while still maintaining the accuracy of the overall vote count.

Accessibility: Online voting using blockchain can enable greater participation, particularly for remote or physically challenged voters.

Resistance to Fraud: Blockchain's decentralized architecture reduces the risk of single points of failure and mitigates the potential for fraudulent activities.

Challenges and Considerations

Technical Barriers: The implementation of blockchain-based voting systems requires robust technical expertise and careful consideration of scalability and performance.

Voter Authentication: Ensuring secure voter identification and authentication is crucial to preventing unauthorized access and fraudulent voting.

Regulatory and Legal Issues: The adoption of online voting, especially with blockchain, necessitates addressing legal and regulatory concerns related to elections and data privacy.

Public Trust and Acceptance: Convincing the general public and electoral authorities about the security and reliability of blockchain-based voting is a crucial aspect of widespread adoption.

Conclusion

Immigration

"A nation without borders is not a nation. There must be a wall across the southern border."

"For many years, Mexico’s leaders have been taking advantage of the United States by using illegal immigration to export the crime and poverty in their own country (as well as in other Latin American countries)."

"The cost of building a permanent border wall pales mightily in comparison to what American taxpayers spend every single year on dealing with the fallout of illegal immigration on their communities, schools and unemployment offices. Mexico must pay for the wall and, until they do, the United States will, among other things: impound all remittance payments derived from illegal wages; increase fees on all temporary visas issued to Mexican CEOs and diplomats (and if necessary cancel them); increase fees on all border crossing cards – of which we issue about 1 million to Mexican nationals each year (a major source of visa overstays); increase fees on all NAFTA worker visas from Mexico (another major source of overstays); and increase fees at ports of entry to the United States from Mexico [Tariffs and foreign aid cuts are also options].  We will not be taken advantage of anymore"

"Defund sanctuary cities. Cut-off federal grants to any city which refuses to cooperate with federal law enforcement."

"End birthright citizenship. This remains the biggest magnet for illegal immigration. By a 2:1 margin, voters say it’s the wrong policy, including Harry Reid who said “no sane country” would give automatic citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants."

"End welfare abuse. Applicants for entry to the United States should be required to certify that they can pay for their own housing, healthcare and other needs before coming to the U.S." 

Tax Reform

“All other Americans will get a simpler tax code with four brackets – 0%, 10%, 20% and 25% – instead of the current seven. This new tax code eliminates the marriage penalty and the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) while providing the lowest tax rate since before World War II.” - This sounds pretty, but if you drop the tax rates, then there is less money for things such as pensions, welfare, government agencies, social security, infrastructure, and the country as a whole

“No business of any size, from a Fortune 500 to a mom and pop shop to a freelancer living job to job, will pay more than 15% of their business income in taxes. This lower rate makes corporate inversions unnecessary by making America’s tax rate one of the best in the world.” -- This is good for small businesses, but do mutli-billion/-million dollar international corporations really need their tax rates cut? Corporate moves to Asia are not just for lower tax rates, but also for much cheaper labour. This again raises the point of tax cuts mmeaning less money for social services, government serivces, infrastructure, etc.

“ Under the Trump plan, America will compete with the world and win by cutting the corporate tax rate to 15%, taking our rate from one of the worst to one of the best. “ -- Again, pretty sure big businesses can afford a higher tax rate

 US-China Trade Reform

“ Attack our debt and deficit by vigorously eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in the Federal government, ending redundant government programs, and growing the economy to increase tax revenues. “ -- What government programs will be cut because of this?

“Strengthen the U.S. military and deploying it appropriately in the East and South China Seas. These actions will discourage Chinese adventurism that imperils American interests in Asia and shows our strength as we begin renegotiating our trading relationship with China. A strong military presence will be a clear signal to China and other nations in Asia and around the world that America is back in the global leadership business.” -- The US already has the second largest standing army in the world, right behind China, coincidentally (source). Is a larger military presence necessary against China, or will this just lead to a pissing contest of little boys arguing who’s is bigger? What kind of retaliation will this encourage from China? Should the military actually enter into trade negotiations?

Veterans Administration Reform

“ The guiding principle of the Trump plan is ensuring veterans have convenient access to the best quality care. To further this principle, the Trump plan will decrease wait times, improve healthcare outcomes, and facilitate a seamless transition from service into civilian life.” -- While I do agree with Trump on this, why is it only reserved for veterans? Aren’t all citizens deserving of “convenient access to the best quality care”?

Second Amendment Rights

-- I would comment on this, but as a Canadian, I know woefully little about this issue. I will say, however, that when the second amendment was created, the US was trying to allow its citizens the right to overthrow an oppressive government, and not threaten to shoot somebody for trespassing and not their right to own semi-automatic military-grade assault rifles because they are cool. 

For example, in Canada, to be authorized to carry a concealed firearm, you or your family have to be in imminent danger. As far as I understand, most states issue CCW permits on a shall-issue basis, which essentially boils down to background checks and licensing courses.

As well, from what I have read, in order to purchase or own a firearm in the US, most states seem to require no licensing or permits. In Canada, to purchase/own a firearm, you must have a valid Possession and Acquisition License (PAL) which requires background checks and valid safety training. You must also register all guns with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.