A media portal which campaigns for the introduction of blockchain democracy has  launched a poll on a Blockchain voting App

The free to download ClearPoll app went live on Tuesday 23rd of October and stays open until October 30th.

To take part you have to live in Scotland.

It asks:  do you want Scotland to become an independent country?

The organisers say that the vote is digitally secure and that for the first time will provide an impartial view on the current climate in Scottish politics.

The project has been developed by ClearPoll and YesDayScotland. The campaigners believe that with Blockchain voting more people will participate in elections. They say that voters will not be impeded by location, mobility or accessibility issues.  An internet connection and identifying information is all that is needed to take part.

Voter turnout in the UK General Election in Scotland in 2017 was 66.4% and in 2015 was 71.1%. In the elections to the Scottish Parliament in 2016 voter turnout was 55.6%. And in the Scottish Independence Referendum of 2014 turnout was 84.6%. This was the highest ever voter turnout since the introduction of universal suffrage.

What or Who is ClearPoll ?

“ClearPoll aims to provide more accurate public opinion data. We do this by allowing wider participation, by making polls easily accessible via our ClearPoll app. We allow our users to vote on topics, and then the topics with the most votes become active polls for everyone to vote on. That means that people are deciding what matters to them most, and then people are voting on that issue. “

The ClearPoll App contains several categories at global, national and local levels and users can select what they want to vote on.

You can find out more here: ClearPoll Whitepaper

Nicholas Russell, of YesDayScotland said:

“Scotland now has an unprecedented opportunity to familiarize with Blockchain-powered polling.

“It’s great to see the support for this project defined from MP Martin Docherty-Hughes, who is Scotland’s Westminster Blockchain Leader.

“The one week poll is open to anyone in Scotland, with a smartphone.”

The campaigners are looking forward to the next phase of global Blockchain-powered polling which will incorporate verified citizen identities.

Some people who set up accounts to vote in the poll reported problems with buffering.

Concerns have been raised about claims that Blockchain voting prevents voter fraud. There is scant evidence for voter fraud in Scotland’s elections. As a method of voting Blockchain  relies on reliable internet connections and access to the technology required to register a vote. Across Scotland the variability of internet connections means that people could not rely on this method to register their vote. There are also  people who do not possess computers or smart phones or know how to used them.

Reporter: Fiona Grahame

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