The Follow My Vote team was lucky enough to get a behind the scenes look at the 2015 Montgomery County General Election, in Southwest Virginia. We want to thank Randy Wertz, Montgomery County’s General Registrar, for allowing us this opportunity. The enthusiasm of voters and officials at the precincts we visited cannot be understated. The […]
It’s no secret that the U.S. has one of the lowest voter turnouts of all industrialized democratic countries. For a country so fiercely protective of freedom, the fact is that that we don’t exercise the rights that are denied to many around the world. Maybe we simply don’t have enough reasons to vote. Luckily, the […]
Most people by now are familiar with Bitcoin, the digital currency that is created using Blockchain technology. Although Bitcoin has had a very tumultuous start, investors and entrepreneurs are more fascinated with the potential capabilities that blockchain technology has outside of the Bitcoin currency. Many have discussed using it as a sort of watermark for […]
An initiative petition has been created in Seattle, Washington to help usher in more honest elections. More and more it seems our government is influenced by wealthy citizens, corporate campaign donors, and those involved in Super PACs. Our Government should be of, by, and for the people. Initiative-122 goes a long way towards reducing the […]
Add Pennsylvania to the growing list of states that offer online voter registration. With this move, they become the 23rd state to offer an online registration system. Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State, Pedro Cortes, endorsed this move in a recent article, citing the cost savings and accessibility that online registration will provide eligible voters. He cites a recent […]
On Thursday, September 17th, we attended the Brennan Center for Justice event: America’s Voting Technology Crisis: Preparing for 2016 and Beyond. With the recent release of the report put out by the Brennan Center for Justice appropriately called America’s Voting Machines at Risk, it has become apparent that we need to talk about outdated voting machines […]
NPR has featured an article on outdated voting machines in the US. But what does this mean for American voters? Essentially, outdated voting machines could cause some very real problems within America’s presidential election next year. The Brennan Center for Justice recently released a report on the status of current voting machines in the US. The results […]
Add New Zealand to the list of countries working on implementing an online voting system. Although there have been some pitfalls, New Zealand is putting a lot of time into making sure their online voting system is impenetrable and can be used in the upcoming elections. It is still very much in its infancy but […]
WebRoots Democracy is helping usher in the movement for online voting in the UK! WebRoots Democracy is an independent, non-partisan organization that is campaigning for the use of online voting in local and general elections, specifically in the United Kingdom. Voter apathy plagues all kinds of democracies around the world. WebRoots democracy aims to reverse […]
Things are looking better for some women in the Middle East. Saudi Arabian women can vote now. Last week, women in Saudi Arabia were allowed to register to vote for the first time. Previously in 2011, the late King Abdullah had announced that women would be allowed to vote and run as candidates in 2015. The […]
Earlier this summer, President Barack Obama sat down with Fast Company editor-In-chief Robert Safian to discuss some of his opinions on technology issues and solutions. In this interview, the President told Safian that he believes online voting should ‘absolutely’ be a priority. Safian asked: Arguably the next killer app for tech would be online voting. That’s a […]
Earlier this summer Los Angeles County, California announced a plan to move towards an open source voting model. It’s pretty crazy to think that the same place that hosts some of the most innovative tech companies in the world is just now moving away from archaic voting methods. Under the new system, slated for public […]
Earlier this year, we saw several stories about vote swapping in the UK. Websites like Vote Swap have popped up to help people swap their votes. But why are people swapping votes and what does it do? Essentially people are swapping votes to try to make their vote count more. For instance, A voter might feel as […]
This article from CNN shows that the 2014 midterm elections had the lowest voter turnout in 70 years with only 36% of eligible voters coming out to the polls. This raises a question — if voting is how we display our participation in the political process, and people aren’t going to the polls, then who […]
A study by the Brennan Center for Justice has demonstrated that the new voting laws instituted in North Carolina, Kansas, Virginia, and Florida could have changed the outcome of elections. The voting laws, which ranged from eliminating same-day registration to requiring proof of citizenship at the poll booth, are said to have disproportionately affected specific […]
Follow My Vote has been featured in another publication for building a voting system on a blockchain. Freedom magazine has included us in their very in-depth coverage of blockchain technology and all its use cases. The article covered Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto (the creator of Bitcoin), cryptocurrencies, and the internet of things. The article also informed […]
Freedom Fest has been touted as “The World’s Largest Gathering of Free Minds.” Simply put, Freedom Fest 2015 was unlike any event we’ve ever attended. Within minutes of hitting the conference floor, we had opportunity to connect with a plethora of open-minded people with varying religious beliefs, economic theories, and political ideologies. Needless to say, […]
While at Freedom Fest 2015, Our Founder and CEO, Adam Ernest got a chance to talk about Follow My Vote and the future of voting on Sack Heads Radio(SHR Media). Freedom Fest is an annual festival where free minds meet to celebrate great books, great ideas and great thinkers in an open minded society. The festival is […]
What do the U.S. and Switzerland have in common? The answer is more complicated than you might think. Besides both being highly industrialized, Western democracies, they both sport some of the lowest voter turnouts in the world; turnouts which studies have now shown to be a result of another similarity, frequent elections. In the United […]
Whether you’re a devotee of international news or just a casual observer, most would agree that negotiations regarding a Greek bailout package from Eurozone lenders have clogged the headlines for too long. Over the course of months we have seen feisty Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras go round after round with indomitable German Chancellor Angela […]