West Virginia University Student Government Considers Using Blockchain for Voting

     West Virginia University’s (WVU) Student Government Association (SGA) is discussing whether to use a blockchain-based voting platform in future elections, according to student-run newspaper Daily Athenauem .

     The idea, conceived by West Virginia University students Ankur Kumar and Ricky Kirkendall, would allow students to elect student body president and vice president using an iPad app, rather than traditional voting machines.

     If implemented, the plan would save the SGA an estimated $5,000 to $7,000, mostly from the difference in price between leasing voting machines and buying iPads.

     Emma Harrison, the SGA’s election moderator, was optimistic about the plan, but she said blockchain technology needed to be tested more extensively before it could be put into use.

Harrison told the news source:

    “Blockchain technology will not be used in SGA elections right away, but if it is approved, it will be used in the next homecoming election.”

Objections

     However, not everyone at the university is comfortable with testing and using emerging technologies in elections.

     Kumar and Kendall had already developed an app they wanted to put into use, called SureVoting, which campus counselors saw as a potential problem.

    “I like the idea, but I see some potential unethical situations where the students who are responsible for coding the election results are also among the voters,” SGA advisor Daniel Brewster told reporters.

     Elsewhere, Kumar focused on the convenience that blockchain technology can bring.

     He added: “The votes entered into the blockchain application cannot be changed or deleted, and neither the students who wrote the program nor the school administrators can tamper with the voting system.”

     Representatives from the WVU SGA have yet to comment further.