Is Trump 'Vlad' to The Bone
Vladimir Putin is really doing it this time. His much famed election cyberattacks are getting Americans more and more worked up over election security. But, the Republicans are asking what Obama was thinking. The Democrats are asking what Trump was thinking. Meanwhile, most Americans just want to know if the voting machines will be secure for the next election. Is that even technically possible?
My quest for a tamper proof voting system has lead me to much anxiety. I feel like I'm standing on the edge of a cliff. There is an army closing in on me. They are wielding pencils and paper ballots as if these tools were mid evil swords and shields. Should I fight them? I look down to find a murky ocean at the bottom of the cliff. It is filled with something called blockchain voting. Should I jump?
Allow me to clear up some of that murky water for you. Picture a bunch of high school kids on election day. They write their votes on a ballot. Then they put them all in a box. One of the faculty members brings all the ballots into the next room and counts them. But, the results of the election are surprising. This leads many to wonder weather the votes were counted accurately.
Why are the faculty members, in this scenario, counting the ballots in the next room? Shouldn't they just count the votes right there in front of the students? This is similar to how blockchain voting works. The difference is that social media makes it possible for the students to monitor the count without being in the same physical location as the faculty member.
Blockchain voting is made possible with peer to peer file sharing. The voting database doesn't even exist in a single location. It is split up into little chunks called blocks. Then the blocks are passed out to members of this peer to peer network for safe keeping. But, they remain chained together. These chains make it impossible for any individual to change the data in any block without everybody else knowing about it. But, what about the Putin factor?
Lets face it. Not everybody loves the United States. Also, you don't have to be a major world power to hire a computer hacker. This security issue might eliminate the blockchain option. But, maybe there is a solution. What about play dates with free face painting? What about little old ladies in church groups? Aren't those organizations flying under Vladimir Putin's radar?
The journey to a tamper proof election begins here. It begins with you. What will happen if everybody who reads this article make extensive use of the social media buttons below.
