Bitcoin Forum

Bitcoin => Development & Technical Discussion => Topic started by: Giulio Prisco on May 27, 2014, 09:19:21 AM



Title: Blockchain-based polling/voting systems
Post by: Giulio Prisco on May 27, 2014, 09:19:21 AM
In a blockchain-based polling/voting system, what is the best way to ensure that nobody votes more than once, and what is the best way to keep votes secret (if that's a requirement)? The info available in the blockchain should be 1) who voted and 2) how many votes for each option.


Title: Re: Blockchain-based polling/voting systems
Post by: KaChingCoinDev on May 29, 2014, 12:10:35 AM
In a blockchain-based polling/voting system, what is the best way to ensure that nobody votes more than once, and what is the best way to keep votes secret (if that's a requirement)? The info available in the blockchain should be 1) who voted and 2) how many votes for each option.

How exactly do you mean this? For an altcoin? On top of the existing BTC? Forking BTC?


Title: Re: Blockchain-based polling/voting systems
Post by: DannyHamilton on May 29, 2014, 12:18:11 AM
. . . what is the best way to ensure that nobody votes more than once . . .

To accomplish this, you're going to have to figure out how to define a person.

You could theoretically issue each voter a single unit that can be used for voting, but that wouldn't prevent people from selling their votes to others.


Title: Re: Blockchain-based polling/voting systems
Post by: DoogieHouser on May 29, 2014, 12:53:50 AM
In a blockchain-based polling/voting system, what is the best way to ensure that nobody votes more than once, and what is the best way to keep votes secret (if that's a requirement)? The info available in the blockchain should be 1) who voted and 2) how many votes for each option.

You may find more answers here (https://cryptocointalk.com/topic/11079-proposed-block-chain-vote-to-switch-bitcoin-scrypt-from-proof-of-work-to-pure-proof-of-stake/).


Title: Re: Blockchain-based polling/voting systems
Post by: gmaxwell on May 29, 2014, 02:11:40 AM
Blockchains are generally the wrong tools for evoting— they don't solve any of the hard problems presented by that space.  They don't provide for censorship resistance (blockchains are not jamming free networks), they are generally privacy disasters (so they certantly don't help ballot confidentiality). They are not a sibyl free issuance mechanism, so they don't prevent parties from getting an unfair share of the votes.

I think electronic voting systems are exciting and interesting, but if you're using technology from Bitcoin to implement these systems you are likely using the wrong tools and will build something which lets people down.