2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Young wants Americans to “be able to vote via their mobile device, with verification done via blockchain.”

According to Yang’s campaign website, in the area of democracy/governance, one of his policy proposals is to “Modernize Voting”.

Yang believes that given the current state of technology, it’s “ridiculous” that in 2020 Americans will be “standing in line for hours to vote in antiquated voting booths” since it’s “technically possible to have fraud-proof voting on our mobile phones today using the blockchain.” As for those Americans who do not own smartphones, they could still vote using the “legacy system” (and those lines “would be very short”).

The stated goals for this new way of voting are

  • making voting “easier and more secure”;
  • reducing “inconsistent processes between states”; and
  • restoring “confidence and engagement in the democratic process”.

Yang’s campaign team expect blockchain-based voting to “dramatically increase participation in all elections, whether local, state or federal.”

Yang, who might be the most crypto-friendly U.S. presidential candidate ever, spoke on May 2015 at the Consensus 2019 conference in New York. The same day, he sent out the following tweet:

In Russia, the city of Moscow is planning to use blockchain technology this autumn to allow, for the first time, electronic voting in three districts in the election of deputies to the Moscow City Duma on September 8.