Category: Press

Voatz Rated as a Trusted Blockchain Solution for Elections

Posted on by itops

For Immediate Release

Washington DC – September 14, 2023: The Government Blockchain Association today announced that Voatz, a blockchain-based voting technology, has earned the designation of a Trusted Blockchain Solution after undergoing an independent assessment using the Blockchain Maturity Model (BMM).

Voatz’s Remote Accessible Ballot Delivery, Marking, and Return (RABDMR) blockchain solution has been a game-changer in election implementations worldwide, successfully supporting diverse elections, including political party and presidential elections in the United States and internationally.

The assessment of Voatz’s RABDMR solution was conducted using the Blockchain Maturity Model (BMM), a framework developed by the Government Blockchain Association and recognized by the United Nations Internet Governance Forum Dynamic Coalition on Blockchain Assurance & Standardization.

Voatz specializes in providing highly secure and accessible voting solutions for overseas citizens, military personnel, diplomats, first responders and citizens with disabilities. The solution leverages mobile devices, biometrics, hardware-based security and blockchain technology to create a private and convenient voting experience for these critical demographics.

Gerard Dache, Executive Director of GBA, lauded Voatz, stating, “Voatz has earned the designation as a trusted blockchain solution because of their steadfast commitment to secure and accessible elections”. He added, “Voatz has now joined the ranks of globally recognized trusted blockchain solutions featured on the United Nations Blockchain Assurance & Standardization Dynamic Coalition website”.

Nimit Sawhney, Co-Founder/CEO of Voatz stated, “The Voatz team is thrilled to be the first election solution to complete this BMM assessment and achieve a trusted blockchain solution designation. We look forward to serving more governments/election officials globally and bringing more accessibility, transparency, and security to the electoral and e-governance infrastructure”.

The assessment was carried out by a team of GBA-qualified senior-level experts specializing in blockchain technology, legal matters, regulatory compliance, and election processes. This team employed a comprehensive framework and a rigorous assessment methodology that evaluates the voting solution from eleven distinct perspectives, including Distribution, Governance, Identity Management, Interoperability, Performance, Privacy, Reliability, Resilience, Security, Infrastructure Sustainability, and Synchronization.

Voatz’s dedication to providing secure and inclusive voting solutions has received further validation with this recognition. At a time when election security and accessibility are paramount concerns, Voatz’s RABDMR solution shines as a beacon of trustworthiness and innovation in the blockchain-based voting landscape.

— For more information about Voatz and its groundbreaking solutions, please visit https://voatz.com.

— To learn more about the Blockchain Maturity Model and its applications, visit https://www.gbaglobal.org/blockchain-maturity-model.

— For additional insights into the United Nations Internet Governance Forum Dynamic Coalition on Blockchain Assurance & Standardization, please visit https://intgovforum.org/en/content/dynamic-coalition-on-blockchain-assurance-and-standardization-dc-bas.

About Voatz:

Voatz is an award winning mobile-first elections platform backed by cutting-edge security, biometrics and a blockchain-backed infrastructure. Since its inception, Voatz has successfully served more than 2.3 million voters across 125 elections in 6 countries. In 2018, Voatz ran the first mobile vote in US Federal Election history, and, in 2020, Voatz became the first smartphone app based system to be used for voting in the US Presidential Elections. Voatz was recently selected by 15 cities in Canada for the 2022 Ontario Municipal Elections.

About the Government Blockchain Association (GBA):

The Government Blockchain Association (GBA) is a global nonprofit organization that facilitates the adoption of blockchain technology in government and public sector organizations. GBA’s mission is to educate and empower public sector professionals to understand, adopt, and utilize blockchain technology for more efficient, secure, and transparent government services.

Voatz Successfully Completes Its 2022 Elections in the US & Canada

Posted on by itops

For Immediate Release

Boston, MA / North Bay, ON – November 11, 2022: Voatz announces the successful completion of its elections in the US and Canada as part of the 2022 election cycle. Nearly half a million voters were eligible to use the Voatz system during this election cycle across multiple jurisdictions.

Voatz Track Record

As of this release, Voatz has successfully completed 115 elections and enabled more than 2.1 million voters to cast their ballots in a secure, accessible manner using the convenience of their personal devices. The Voatz team is extremely grateful for the trust and support it has received from various election officials, administrators and voters globally.

“Our team has been working tirelessly to expand access and security in elections.” said a Voatz spokesperson. “We strongly believe that technologies such as ours can play a significant role in rebuilding trust and making the electoral process safer and truly accessible for all. The groundwork to conduct large scale online elections has now been laid and we are super excited to embrace the opportunities ahead.”

Voatz is at the forefront of providing accessible, secure remote voting for all citizens and has established itself as a global leader in delivering successful elections especially in high threat scenarios. Its award winning mobile first election system continues to receive high praise from citizens and administrators alike.

Voatz Testimonial
Voatz Testimonial

About Voatz 

Voatz is an award-winning mobile elections platform that leverages cutting-edge technology (including remote identity verification, biometrics and a blockchain-based infrastructure) to increase access, auditability and security in elections. Since 2016, Voatz has served more than 2.1 millions voters across 115 elections with national/state/municipal governments, universities, nonprofits, and major state political parties. Voatz specializes in delivering successful elections in high threat environments.

Key Milestone – Our 100th Election

Posted on by itops

On September 26th 2022, we kicked off our 100th election which also happened to be our first ever governmental election in Ontario, Canada.

As a new entrant to the Canadian market, we are delighted to be pioneering mobile first voting (running on a blockchain backed infrastructure) in the 2022 Ontario Municipal Elections across several jurisdictions.

Voatz 100th Election - 1st in Canada

We are grateful for the trust placed in us by election officials, administrators and electors. We look forward to a highly successful election cycle this year.

Updated 10/25/22 – Turnout in this milestone election increased from 38.46% (in 2018 where Voatz wasn’t used) to 43.55% in 2022. See details below:

Case Study: Venezuela

Posted on by V Team Author

The challenging political environment in Venezuela reached a crisis point in December 2020, when Juan Guaidó (the internationally recognized leader) and the National Assembly challenged incumbent Nicolás Maduro’s presidency through a referendum: a popular consultation with its citizens. It was also an historic moment, as the call for change came from Venezuelans both inside and outside the country  – since 2014, over five million Venezuelans have fled the country amid the violence and threats of the Maduro regime. Giving all these citizens a voice – and a vote – in a safe, secure, and auditable manner was the essential ingredient in challenging Maduro and his stranglehold on the country.

It was amidst this sensitive landscape that Boston-based mobile voting platform Voatz was selected by members of the Organizing Committee of the Popular Consultation (of Venezuela), on behalf of President Guaidó and the National Assembly, as the digital platform to conduct a free and fair referendum for Venezuelan voters between Dec 7th through Dec 12th, 2020.

How It Worked: 
This was the first-of-its-kind undertaking, allowing Venezuelans to digitally participate in a citizen’s consultation (referendum) at home and overseas – a breakthrough in modern democracy. This effort’s overwhelming response and success will serve as a road map for citizens across the world seeking a similar democratic action. 

The consultation platform was accessible through smartphone applications, web browser applications, and tablet applications and was also integrated with a third-party bot-based provider on Telegram. Participation was made convenient, accessible through the platform’s intuitive design and tutorials for those who needed additional help. The ballot asked three simple questions, allowing Venezuelans to safely and independently express support for President Guaidó and the National Assembly. 

Technology Overview:
The Organizing Committee of the Popular Consultation tasked Voatz with making this a secure, accessible voting system that would inspire trust and confidence among Venezuelans. Eligible citizens were verified using Venezuelan national IDs and live selfies. Voatz also provided a secure API for special access to bots running on encrypted messaging apps such as  Telegram, helped maintain voter anonymity, train voters, and poll workers, and facilitated a post-election risk-limiting audit using the blockchain.  

Results: 
Nearly 6.5 million people participated in the referendum, with more than 1.7 million of those processed digitally through the Voatz platform, which makes this the largest voting exercise to use a mobile application and run on blockchain technology. Voters participated from 60 countries worldwide; more than 50% of the voters used smartphones (Android – 42%, iPhone -14%). An independent audit was conducted sampling 10% of the ballots to confirm that votes were cast and counted as intended. 100% of the ovals matched, thereby providing a high degree of statistical assurance regarding the accuracy of the final results. 

Security: 
Given the sensitive nature of the project, Voatz was prepared to operate in the presence of cyber threats. The Voatz platform performed resiliently by identifying and blocking attacks as they occurred. Threats seen frequently in the field were broadly in the following categories – DNS tampering attempts, email spoofing, denial of service attacks, SMS blocking, man-in-the-middle attacks, device malware, suspicious mobile application, and unsafe wireless connections.

Social Media:

Media Coverage:
Associated Press: Maduro opponents claim big turnout in Venezuelan protest
France 24: Venezuela’s Guaido launches ‘popular consultation’ as Maduro tightens grip on power

Voatz Recognized as Webby Award Honoree

Posted on by V Team Author

Our important mission is being officially recognized: Voatz was proud to be a Webby Award Honoree, under the “Apps and Software: Public Service & Activism” category. The Webby Awards, a worldwide award in its 25th year, features “apps, mobile sites and progressive web apps that educate and empower citizens, and/or encourage civic engagement within one’s community or society at large.”

This is an incredible honor. Voatz’s goal has been from the beginning to make voting more accessible, leveraging the incredible security and privacy advancements of mobile phones and the immutability of blockchain architecture. With the incredible foresight of forward-looking election officials, we’ve been able to pioneer options that empower voters that are effectively disenfranchised by our current hard-to-access options – including our overseas military and other citizens, as well as our disabled community. When voting is easier, we strengthen our democracy – we still have a lot of work to do to expand options to those that need it the most.

In 2020, Voatz became the first mobile voting app to be used in a U.S. presidential election. That followed Voatz’s other pioneering feats, as the first mobile voting app for use in U.S. mid-term elections (2018) and for use in U.S. municipal elections (2019).

Eclypses Partners with Voatz to pilot Quantum Resistant Security for Mobile Voting

Posted on by V Team Author

Eclypses has partnered with Voatz, a leading mobile voting platform provider to pilot its “Quantum Resistant” security solution in upcoming elections. Voatz made history by being the 1st mobile voting application backed by a blockchain-based infrastructure to be used successfully in a US presidential election this year, allowing voters to securely cast their ballots on their personal smartphones.

Eclypses MicroToken Exchange® (MTE) is being integrated into certain aspects of the Voatz mobile voting infrastructure to future-proof the security of the network communication as well as further improve the detection of rooted/jailbroken devices in order to make it exponentially harder for malicious actors to tamper with voter devices.

Voatz CEO Nimit Sawhney states, “Security is a persistent work in progress and Voatz has always been at the forefront of pushing the boundaries. We are excited to partner with the Eclypses team to further this exciting exploration of how a modern election system can function seamlessly in the presence of anticipated future threats and provide an accessible method of voting to citizens around the world.”

Eclypses’ CEO Bryan Champagne states, “Protecting the most vulnerable data from cyberattacks has always been our top priority. Our MicroToken Exchange® (MTE) cyber technology is uniquely positioned for all mobile apps to create an advanced security strategy that enhances any existing security measures in place. We are thrilled about our partnership with Voatz, as they continue to pioneer through the mobile app sector and provide accessibility for people to participate in democracy.”

About Eclypses

Eclypses sets the new standard for protecting your most sensitive data. Their disruptive technology provides clients with the highest level of data security available today. Eclypses offers a transformative “Quantum Resistant” security solution using the MicroToken Exchange® (MTE) framework, patented methods to replace actual data with MicroTokens. This disruptive technology, revolutionary in both speed and accessibility, gives clients access to the highest level of security available today, safeguarding even the most vulnerable data from cyberattacks. For more information, please visit www.eclypses.com.

About Voatz

Voatz is a mobile elections platform that is changing the way the world votes. Backed by cutting-edge security, biometrics and a blockchain-based elections infrastructure, Voatz enables smartphone and tablet voting to increase accessibility and security in elections. Since 2016, Voatz has successfully conducted more than 75 elections successfully including the world’s largest mobile voting exercise using the blockchain. In 2018, Voatz ran the first mobile blockchain vote in US Federal Mid-Term Election history with the State of West Virginia. In 2020, Voatz became the first smartphone app based mobile elections platform to be used in the US Presidential Elections. To learn more, please visit https://voatz.com.

Statement on Amicus Brief

Posted on by itops

Nathan Van Buren, Petitioner v. United States

Voatz was named in an amicus brief dated July 8, 2020, advocating on behalf of “good faith” researchers and “white hat” hackers to be allowed the free and unfettered ability to attack live systems without identifying themselves or adhering to guidelines.

Voatz’s response to this brief is an effort to provide the Supreme Court with context and evidence surrounding the Voatz example used in the brief. We also provide our experience on the potential impact of a ruling that would challenge efforts to distinguish between good-faith and malicious attacks on critical infrastructure. During a live election, we should be squarely focused on securing the platform; allowing an unfettered, unannounced ability to attack live critical infrastructure and to distinguish between “good” attackers vs “bad” attackers would be a burden that undermines that focus. 

The Voatz platform has benefited greatly from our work with researchers when those researchers have worked collaboratively through consulting arrangements, “bug bounty” programs, and other authorized engagements. We have witnessed first hand the role of collaboration in evolving our platform, and in our mission of making voting secure and accessible for anyone disenfranchised by current methods of voting. We are deeply committed to ensuring that our relationship with researchers is one of mutual respect. It is within this context that technology can be appropriately developed, piloted, and deployed.  

Contrary to claims in the amicus brief filed by the Computer Security Researchers, Electronic Frontier Foundation, unauthorized research can be detrimental to innovation in technologies identified as critical infrastructure—in this case, electronic ballot marking and return. Allowing for unauthorized research in the form of hacks/attacks on live systems would lead to uncertain and potentially faulty results or conclusions, would make distinguishing between true researchers and malicious hackers difficult, and would unnecessarily burden the mandate of the nation’s critical infrastructure. Furthermore, there is simply no rationale for such access where, as described above, computer researchers can conduct security research using authorized research processes already in place (such as bug bounty programs and advanced replica systems that mirror live systems) in coordination with organizations or their customers. 

TL;DR  

  1. Voatz collaborates with a wide range of credible organizations and individuals as a reflection of its mission to provide a secure mobile voting platform. This includes engagement with independent third-party security firms, and independent white-hat researchers who participate through its bug bounty program, a methodology that is used by a majority of tech companies and secure entities, including the Department of Defense.
  1. Setting the conditions for access to computer systems that are created and maintained at great expense is just as reasonable as setting conditions for entry onto physical premises. A nuclear power plant may offer tours to the public, but if a member of a tour group goes beyond that limited authorized access and attempts to sneak into the control room, they can be prosecuted for trespassing. The same is true for virtually every other piece of physical critical infrastructure, whether it be banks, airports, or military bases. This logic should be applied to the nation’s computer systems created and maintained for critical infrastructure and in this case specifically, elections.
  1. While the Computer Researchers portray themselves as under threat of being victimized for inadvertently tripping over a restriction, the reality is different: they wish to be free to deliberately infiltrate a live system in violation of readily accessible terms, openly publish any results obtained without adhering to coordinated disclosure policies, and be immune from being intercepted or reported under contract for doing so. There is simply no rationale for such access where, as described above, computer researchers can conduct security research using authorized research processes already in place (such as bug bounty programs and advanced replica systems that mirror live systems) in coordination with organizations or their customers.  

Michigan Democratic Party Completes Successful Virtual Convention with the Help of Mobile Voting App Voatz

Posted on by itops

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.

Voatz Mobile Voting Platform Verified as Compliant with Federal Voting System Guidelines by Independent Testing Lab

Posted on by itops

BOSTON, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Voatz, a leading mobile voting platform, meets the applicable requirements for U.S. voting systems, according to Pro V&V, an independent, federally-certified Voting System Test Laboratory (VSTL). 

Pro V&V recently completed comprehensive testing of the Voatz Remote Accessible Ballot Delivery, Marking and Return (RABDMR) System.

In a 47-page report, Pro V&V concluded that the Voatz platform “meets the applicable requirements set forth for voting systems in the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) 2015 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG), Version 1.1, with clarifications or exceptions noted in Section 4.0 of the final version of Pro V&V Test Report.” 

A summary of the report has been made public on the Voatz website, along with a link to the full report.

Conducted over a five-month period, Pro V&V’s testing included Accuracy testing to verify specific voter selections and that the “voter’s encrypted, emailed ballot receipt and jurisdiction’s printed ballot match the voter’s choices.” 

Their testing also included an analysis of the Voatz mobile applications’ use of native smartphone accessibility capabilities, including screen readers, predictive layout and navigation, voice control, and flexible session timeout limitations, as well as the application’s language capabilities (Spanish). 

Security Testing involved an audit of the Voatz application source code, testing procedures and compliance with industry standards. As the report states, “Pro V&V verified various controls and measures to meet the required security standards including: protection of the critical elements of the voting system; establishing and maintaining controls to minimize errors; protection from intentional manipulation, fraud and malicious mischief; identifying fraudulent or erroneous changes to the voting system; and protecting the secrecy in the voting process. During the security evaluation, Pro V&V was able to verify that the Voatz RABDMR utilized a blockchain-based infrastructure from the server throughout the remainder of the process.”

“We are pleased with Pro V&V’s conclusions that Voatz operates exactly as it’s designed to operate,” said Nimit Sawhney, Voatz’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Their findings confirm our expectations, and add further fuel to support our mission that citizens can vote securely using a smartphone application and have total confidence their ballot is counted while remaining fully secret.”

Voatz has completed 67 elections to date, performing as expected in each of them, including 11 governmental elections. In 2018, Voatz partnered with the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office to enable a first-in-the-nation mobile voting pilot, which allowed deployed military service people to vote for the first time using an app on their smartphones. 

About Voatz
Voatz is an award-winning mobile elections platform that leverages cutting-edge technology (including remote identity verification, biometrics and a blockchain-based infrastructure) to increase access and security in elections. Since 2016 Voatz has run 67 elections with states, counties, cities, towns, universities, nonprofits, and both major state political parties in multiple states for convention voting. Learn more here.

About Pro V&V 
Pro V&V is one of only two testing labs that is both certified by the EAC as a Voting System Testing Laboratory (VSTL) and accredited by NIST through the National Laboratories Accreditation Program (NLAP).

See Voatz’s White Paper Published at the 2020 NASS Summer Conference

Posted on by itops

Voatz recently submitted a white paper shared by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), entitled “Standardization of Remote Ballot Marking & Return Through a Rigorous National Study & Examination”.

The paper calls for a comprehensive study focused on defining the security and functional requirements for apps designed to receive the appropriate blank ballot, enable marking of the ballot, and assure the return of a ballot using a commercial off-the-shelf computer. This study should consider if these apps can take full advantage of the security features of the platform, while being able to verify the voter, secure their markings of the ballot, encrypt & guarantee the return of the marked ballot all while assuring the anonymity of the voter.

We recommend including experts from a cross-section of organizations, federal agencies, representatives from disenfranchised communities, and technologists to determine a process to establish, test, and deploy systems that will support our democracy. The most inclusive effort will allow significant participation from the private sector and outreach to voters.

The paper contends that a well-executed and transparent study of remote ballot marking will provide comfort and confidence to citizens and other stakeholders that the systems that states are choosing to deploy meet rigorous federal government guidelines and widely accepted standards.

A link to the paper can be found on the NASS website here.