Politicians urged to bin the ballot box and bring in the blockchain

Leading independent London Mayoral candidate Brian Rose says blockchain technology could help combat electoral fraud and boost voter turnout

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, April 25, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Mainstream political parties have been accused of leaving Britain’s voting system ‘mired in the past’ to protect their own interests.

Politicians have deliberately maintained the status quo rather than implementing new technology which could reduce voting fraud and raise levels of voter participation, says London Mayor candidate Brian Rose.

Rose, the leading independent candidate in the May 2nd election, is calling for blockchain technology to be used to digitise voting, bringing much-needed clarity, security – and potentially higher voter turnout – to elections.

He said: ‘In a world where digital technology has transformed almost everything we do, it beggars belief that our voting system still relies on piles of paper, stubby pencils and grubby ballot boxes.

‘Postal votes have come under particular suspicion – fraudsters simply have to pay a few thousand pounds to access the Electoral Register and they can then start trying to game the system.

‘While it is shocking that the authorities do not seem to care how vulnerable our voting system is, it is not surprising. Mainstream politicians collude to support the status quo, keeping our democratic machinery mired in the past, allowing two-party domination to endure.

‘It is nothing more than venal self-interest – and, of course, the more disengaged and disenchanted voters become with this crooked mess, the less likely it is that meaningful change will happen. Robust democratic procedures are apparently of no importance and this key part of our democratic system remains on life support.’

There is well-documented and long-standing public concern around voting crime. A 2005 survey showed two-fifths of Britons were concerned about electoral fraud.

The issue was thrust firmly into the spotlight in 2015 when an East London Mayor was kicked out of office and election results declared void in a scandal over postal votes in Tower Hamlets.

And in 2022, Communities Minister Kemi Badenoch admitted the Government was ‘concerned that fraud could be repeated … in areas where it has occurred before, such as Tower Hamlets’.

However, the authorities have sought to play down the risks. The Electoral Commission insists there is no evidence of ‘widespread’ electoral fraud and, over almost 30 years, has brought only nine successful convictions for electoral fraud.

Rose said: ‘When two-fifths of the country express legitimate and serious concerns over an issue like this, but no meaningful change happens, we would be wise to ask whether our democratic freedoms are being respected or abused.

‘Even the Electoral Commission itself has admitted that police data "may not be a complete record of all activity which could involve electoral fraud offences".

‘Against that backdrop, perhaps it’s little wonder that 58 per cent of Londoners didn’t even vote in the last Mayoral election.’

Rose believes a lack of trust in the system may discourage people from voting. He also maintains that careful adoption of new technology could make it easier to take part and more likely that people would cast a vote.

Turnout at the 2021 Mayoral election was only 42 per cent. But even that eclipsed turnout in 2012, year of the London Olympics, when a mere 38 per cent of Londoners voted for a Mayor.

Rose said: ‘The truth is this: if almost half of voters don’t believe the voting process is democratic, then it is flawed.

‘Rest assured that if changing the system was likely to win votes for Conservative or Labour candidates, then change would happen. This stuff is not impossible – blockchain technology has been changing the world for several years now, it’s not even shiny and new.’

Rose, born in California and now a British citizen and founder of London Real, regularly advocates for the adoption of more appropriate technology in his immensely popular online broadcasts.

His Mayoral manifesto includes a pledge to give every person in London £100 worth of a new crypto token – the LONDON – to spend on transport, bills and more.

He added: ‘Blockchain’s transparent, immutable data are transformative.

‘This can help the electorate see and interrogate voting, as well as securing the electoral process, providing a permanent, accessible and reliable record.

‘And it can enable a voting future which enshrines the principles of modern democracy, protecting us from fraud and promoting the very concept of “Of the people, by the people, for the people”.

‘In selfishly refusing to adopt new technology that would make the democratic process more robust and efficient, our political leaders are, effectively, guilty of digital gerrymandering.’

Howard Bowden
London Real
+44 7818 073213
email us here
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Other