A USPS patent application for blockchain-based mail-in ballots

I don't see why you can't have somebody register and anonymously link themselves to a key (presented in a form the user can understand and use), at an in person government site at their leisure, then during voting week everybody could vote online, and receive proof that they voted and that the vote was recorded correctly, but without divulging how they voted in that proof (they'd received a different confirmation if they'd voted differently, then they could go verify that on a chain explorer, and just tell any would be vote influencers what they need to tell them)

Seems like a good plan to me. I agree with other posters who are more concerned that patenting this idea prevents others from implementing it.

If the concern is somebody can hold a gun to your head while you're at your computer i feel like that's a relevant concern for absentee ballots as well then.

If the concern is that selling your vote becomes as easy as selling your private key then the same concern applies for signed absentee ballots.

And it's not like the option doesn't exist to have people go to an in person polling place and use their key instead, if that is deemed best for whatever reason. It would basically then just become an extra layer of transparency.

/r/programming Thread Link - pdfaiw.uspto.gov