We live in a world with more computing power inside the smartphones in our pockets than NASA used to get us to the moon, yet the way we govern our societies and companies remains a comparative pocket calculator. Our models for collaborative decision making are a relic, centuries old. Processes are slow and expensive, outcomes are increasingly distrusted, and our geographically centralised methods of participation are a catalyst for voter apathy. Society is hurtling into the future, but our democratic processes are stuck in the past, falling behind the rest of the world.

Today we are formally announcing Horizon State, a team which exists to answer a single question: “If democracy was designed with today’s technology, what would it look like?”

If past founders of nations and capitalist institutions had access to modern technologies, our governments and company structures would look very different than they do now. If blockchain existed then, would it have been decided that the best way to organise ourselves would be to elect unaffected representatives to make decisions on behalf of those affected? Democracy is much more than our electorates, our representative models, our boards and our management teams. Democracy is the opportunity to share in the decision making processes that relates to the shared matters which affect us. Democracy is about reaching consensus on how to best use our shared resources to achieve the best outcomes for our partners, children, colleagues, staff, and fellow citizens. Where there are shared resources in any cooperative environment, there remains no question: we need better shared decision making tools and processes. Thanks to distributed ledger technology, this is now possible, and a historic change in our democratic processes awaits.

Horizon State has devised a platform for the gathering of opinions, the casting of votes, and the making of collective decisions. We’re able to inform constituencies, engage them with immediacy, and do so with unprecedented confidence. This record of participation is decentralised — not owned by any government, institution, or individual — it is owned by the people. It delivers post-unforgeable integrity; it is a digital ballot box that cannot be hacked, within which results can never be changed. Votes can be counted transparently in real time by anyone in the world, in perpetuity, while maintaining anonymity. Commercially, our platform achieves this at a fraction of the price-per-transaction compared to traditional methods of facilitation.

More than devise it, Horizon State has built it.

An MVP (minimum viable product) is already in use, becoming the world’s first blockchain-enabled voting system used by the public. Developed for MiVote — an Australian political movement featured in the Financial Review, The Guardian, and on national radio — our early stage platform has been facilitating the casting of thousands of votes to the blockchain since February, 2017.

What has been built so far is just the beginning, soon to be improved and used by political independents, publicly listed companies, and communities within developing nations. We are looking toward brighter horizons, to a place where our countries and companies conduct themselves with this same accountability and efficiency, a place where voices can be heard securely and simply. We are taking our technology global and we expect it to underpin the process of opinion and vote solicitation everywhere, from the smallest councils amidst your national public service, to multinational enterprises.

Our vision is a future where humanity’s methods of democratic process meet the expectations set by almost every other part of our modern lives.

To help us get there, we’ve begun assembling a board of advisers which includes university professors, executives at businesses worth a collective $45 billion, and renowned strategists. We’ll announce new additions to our team and our board over the coming weeks, as well as our roadmap and white paper prior to our token sale.

We welcome you to join us in redesigning our democratic tools and processes. The manner in which our societies organise themselves and make decisions finally has the opportunity to catch up to the 21st century… that opportunity begins now.

If you’re interested in joining the team, joining our advisory board, or want to participate in our token pre-sale, please register your interest or drop us a line at horizonstate.com