Can we prevent post traumatic election disorders doctor?
Not too long ago, I read in the Wall Street Journal that by 2028,
Citizens eligible to vote will be registered automatically, when they receive or renew their driver’s license. And if they move, their address will be automatically updated.
The writer goes on and anticipates that voter awareness and turnout will be much less of a problem (something Y Combinator is working on with RFS).
Engaging, interactive voter-information apps will make it possible for more voters to receive voting materials from election officials.
Then, he elaborates on the voting process.
A photograph, signature and address from the Department of Motor Vehicles will be available for each voter — electronically and in real time — and can be used to identify voters accurately when they show up to vote or request their ballot. Paper poll books will be a thing of the past, and voting locations will be able to check voter rolls instantly.
Well, I am not sure about these predictions but I am confident that cloud based and blockchain voting applications will play a key role.
I also believe that a series of trends will impact the future of voting, and more generally the future of governance.
1/ User expectations
Now, we all expect a piece of software to be beautifully designed, simple and elegant. The decentralization of software buying led to the consumerization and thus the prettification of enterprise software. Now, it’s time for .gov applications to become pretty.
→ The voter’s journey will be human friendly, beautiful, frictionless
2/ Frustration of disempowerment
In 2016, 62.9m people voted for Donald Trump and 65.9m people voted for Hillary Clinton. While frustration is common for those who lose elections, disempowerment appears much bigger when results can only be binary and thus exclusive.
→ Voting processes will be contribution based, allowing for compromises
3/ Accessibility of the identity management layer
Some governments and most of the large Internet players are managing your identity online and have the capacity to act as your authentication system. Which implies that users/citizens will combine the most secure auth systems with the best voting applications.
→ The future of voting will be transversal, homogenized
4/ Cost reduction of the Internet access layer
Cloud infrastructures today and blockchain architectures tomorrow will most certainly continue to follow Moore’s law and allow for bigger voting events on a more frequent basis.
→ “Democracy” will be much more granular
5/ Auditable by stakeholders
B corporations are trending. For a surprising reason…. they strive to meet the standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability. They are also trending because “trust” is not something you say anymore. It is something you have to prove. Voting companies will have to put “trust” into their DNA.
→ The future of voting will be open and transparent
It is undeniable that voting changed a lot over the past 40 years. I believe it is going to change even more over the next 40 years.
Americans vote for president every four years. I am tempted to bet that the 2028 election will be 95% online.
Melchior
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