Blockchain startup The Flux provides democratic election services for the Australian Senate?

Rage Review : The Flux party launched by The Flux startup will participate in Australian politics for the first time. Its blockchain-based smartphone voting application can reform the traditional democratic election process to allow MPs to share information with voters. Once the content of the proposal is shared with voters or followers, they will have the opportunity to express their opinions, and Flux party representatives will vote based on the citizens' reactions. One of the main problems with traditional network architecture is that it is based on a central server, and you must trust all the information conveyed by the server, while blockchain can ensure that the voting records are true, complete, and cannot be tampered with.

Translation: Nicole

The Flux Startup has made its first foray into Australian politics with 13 Senate candidates and a blockchain-based smartphone voting app that aims to reform the democratic electoral process.

With the Australian federal election just two weeks away, The Flux Party is entering the national campaign with the aim of getting its 13 senate candidates elected to the upper house while bringing a blockchain-based democratic electoral platform to the table.

The Flux Party was launched six months ago by Flux startup, with co-founder and chief architect Max Kaye saying its aim was to reform Australia's democratic electoral process.

Max Kaye

Kaye told ZDNet:

"Essentially, our only policy is parliamentary reform and we believe that the current system is no longer suitable for our increasingly progressive country, so we recommend the Flux system to you."

“We are the first company to provide democratic election services.”

If the Flux Party candidate is elected, they will bring the Flux Voting Platform, a blockchain-based smartphone app that allows legislators to share information with voters. For example, once the content of a proposal is shared with voters or followers, they will have the opportunity to express their opinions, and Flux Party representatives will vote based on the citizens' reactions.

Senators play a mere proxy role in the election process.

Kaye said:

"Basically the Flux voting system allows Australians to be as involved in politics as possible, because the flaw in previous democratic elections is that everyone has an equal say in all areas."

"In a society full of expertise and division of labor, we think this kind of democratic election is a little outdated. It is more effective to let people have a say in the areas they are proficient in rather than having equal say in all areas."

The six-month-old party hopes to expand the concept to local, state, federal and even international levels, with Kaye expressing his startup’s long-term goal of reforming democratic elections and returning political power to the people.

Kaye said:

"We think that if you were to colonize Mars, Flux would be an ideal system to give the early settlers a democratic system of government."

“The way we govern is to win power and then give it away.”

Kaye said his party does not enjoy the same trust as other parties, so he does not expect people to trust the Flux Party to do the right thing, but blockchain technology is a way to achieve that the public does not have to trust MPs.

He said:

“We are trying to remove trust as much as possible. Having a blockchain means we are also responsible. Flux Party tries to position itself as the institution with the least influence. We don’t want to influence any votes.”

“One of the main problems with traditional network architecture is that it is based on a central server and you have to trust everything the server tells you. In order for the public to participate in the blockchain, people can use the blockchain to verify that the voting record is authentic and complete, and none of us can tamper with its records.”

The election is on June 2 and Kaye said Flux's main focus was getting the platform right.

He said:

"We built a small product last year that was pretty straight forward to use. I spent a month building it day and night, and it wasn't overly complex - the voting system was pretty straightforward from a technical perspective."

The Flux startup, which recently raised $270,000 privately in a seed round, said it would invest through a trust that ranks itself with the Australian Electoral Commission for electoral finance.

Kaye said:

"If we get funding from the electoral commission - because it will ultimately go back to the taxpayer - we will treat that funding as if it were given to us by the Australian people and set up a trust in the name of the Australian people and that money will be used to fund the platform and to enfranchise ordinary voters."