West Virginia is going to be the first state to use mobile voting service based on blockchain technology in a “federal election”.

The project aims to offer equal opportunities to military members to vote remotely in situations when they can’t personally be present.

The service will be available in Harrison County and Monongalia County

The person who revealed about the new service is the Secretary of State Mac Warner. He announced that military members will have the opportunity to test the new service in the upcoming election to be held on May 8th. The project is only at the beginning of the road, so the service will only be available in two counties: Harrison County and Monongalia County.

Beginning April 25, 2018, the military will be able to cast their vote using a blockchain technology- based mobile service. The service will be available until the voting deadline ends.

In order to benefit from the mobile voting service, military members must have an Apple or Android phone and a personal document authorized by the state.

In November 2018, other 55 counties will benefit from the blockchain- based mobile voting service

The goal of this project is to provide a safe, efficient and lighter alternative to standard voting service. Initially, the service will be available to militaries from Harrison and Monongalia counties who are abroad. However, in the future, the state plans to extend its mobile voting program to other 55 counties. Thus, in the forthcoming November 2018 election, according to plans, the military members from 57 counties will be able to use the mobile voting service in order to vote remotely. It all depends on the results obtained from the first election in May 2018.

The mobile voting service is the first such project in the USA. Mac Warner stated that “West Virginia is taking the lead in providing safe, secure and accurate voting systems to encourage voter participation at every level”.

“We’re working hard to increase the level of confidence citizens have in our election process. Increased confidence results in increased participation”, he added.

The new service is due to the collaboration between the “Office of the Secretary of State of West Virginia, Voitz, Tusk/Montgomery Philanthropies, New America and the Blockchain Trust Accelerator“.

Even if the project is not considered as a success, yet, it promises many benefits that can be implemented in adjacent services to the voting one.