BOSTON and LANSING, Mich., Sept. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Voatz, the Boston-based mobile voting platform, today announced the successful completion of a first-of-its-kind virtual convention with the Michigan Democratic Party. This year’s convention was the first to virtually nominate candidates for the state Supreme Court, among other elected positions, for the November ballot.
Forced to participate from their homes because of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 2,000 delegates both submitted signature nominations and voted for their preferred candidates on the mobile app downloaded to their smartphones. Besides the Michigan Supreme Court, candidates were nominated to the state Board of Education and boards at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University. Roughly 91 percent of 2,092 credentialed delegates participated.
This milestone marks the fourth convention that the Michigan Democratic Party has completed in collaboration with Voatz, with the prior three conventions occurring on-site in Lansing and Detroit and using the Voatz tablet voting system. This prior collaboration contributed to a smooth transition to an all-virtual convention for the party without disruption, and marks yet another compelling case for the benefit of piloting technology options that make elections resilient.
“There were so many unique challenges with this year’s convention because of the pandemic, but the Voatz platform eased many of our concerns,” said Christy Jensen, Executive Director of the Michigan Democratic Party. “Voatz enabled our delegates to be verified remotely and participate through their smartphones. The convenience, safety and accessibility of voting this way was eye-opening for everyone who participated.”
Voatz’s staff worked closely with the party to ensure voter education, training, and a smooth rollout of the platform for all users. The platform was also built in cooperation with disability rights advocates, including accommodations for the visually impaired. Those who did not use the Voatz app had access to voting through a help desk.
“We’ve always enjoyed working with the Michigan Democratic Party and this time, are proud to have helped them with their first-ever virtual convention,” said Voatz Co-Founder and CEO Nimit Sawhney. “These are such uncertain times in so many regards, including voting, and we wanted to ensure a seamless remote experience. We’re happy to have seen such positive turnout from thousands of voters, who were able to cast their votes safely and securely.”
About Voatz
Voatz is an award-winning mobile elections platform that leverages cutting-edge technology (including biometrics and a blockchain-based infrastructure) to increase access and security in elections. Since 2016 Voatz has run 70 elections with cities, universities, towns, nonprofits, and both major state political parties for convention voting. Learn more here.
About the Michigan Democratic Party
The Michigan Democratic Party fights for families, seniors, students and veterans, and works to elect Democrats across the state while holding Republicans accountable across the board.