It's Time to Stop the Spread of COVID-19 ... by Embracing Mobile Voting

Poll workers during COVID-19 in France
Poll Workers in France Taking Extra Precautions

It may look self-serving to write this article. Still, during this time of health risk, I am reminded of one of the reasons we started this company – to enable those who were disadvantaged by means, health, or location, to be able to exercise their right to vote!

Then why, during a pandemic, is the government not embracing a healthier solution when it comes to voting?

The Covid-19 pandemic is genuinely unprecedented.

I’ve lead companies through the 2008 recession and every imaginable hurdle the world could throw at a young and growing company. Still, no similar global nor economic event has provided such an opportunity to shout, “Hey, we have a solution” – blockchain-based mobile voting!

Election workers around the world have to handle both paper and mail-in ballots. Donning gloves, masks, and lots of hand sanitizer, many are fulfilling their duties faithfully, just like so many election workers in the U.S. But would YOU want to be doing this right now?

The problem is most of the people that do this work, on the front line at the precinct, and in the back office, are precisely those people that are most at risk of infection – more than half of poll workers in 2018 were over age 60, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC).

The solution proposed by legislators to the potentially risky in-person voting at the polling place for the remaining primaries and upcoming general election in November – more mail-in ballots – doesn’t solve the problem – particularly regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, doctors aren’t quite sure how long the Covid virus lasts on “soft surfaces,” like paper ballots.

Senators Ron Wyden and Amy Klobuchar just introduced a bill (“The Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act (‘NDEBA’)” attempting to address the issue by allocating $500mm to states to provide for more paper ballots, distributed through the mail, is that the answer? We don’t think so!

We generally don’t reference our competitors in posts but our allies in the battle to improve democracy in the U.S. and abroad, Voatz and Democracy Live, are united with Votem in our fight to solve the problems of more accessible, secure and healthy voting….so maybe Covid-19 is a wake-up call.

Not to dismiss, diminish, nor ignore the real human toll, both physical and psychological, of this viral scare. Still, maybe it will allow election management bodies around the world to stop and think, maybe there’s a better way!

Join us in helping to make voting more accessible, secure, verifiable, and healthier, at votem.com.

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