New York lawmakers have introduced new bills that will drive the integration of blockchain technology into elections to combat voter fraud and increase election integrity.
Rep. Clyde Vanel (D-33) introduced Congressional Bill A7716. This directed the New York State Election Commission to study the use of blockchain to protect election results and voter records if passed. It requires the board to submit a report to the governor and the state legislature on the benefits and risks of technology in the election process.
The bill requires boards to engage with other states and countries that have implemented technology to ensure democracy and consult with industry leaders in blockchain, cybersecurity, voter fraud and election technology.
Vanel’s Bill allows for both public blockchains and private and permitted ledgers, whether fixed or tokenless by Toconomics. Lawmakers believe blockchain provides “unchanging, auditable, uncensored truths.”
Vanel will submit his bill to the Election Law Commission, discuss it and vote. If the majority of committee members vote in favor, it heads to the floor of Congress, then to the Senate, then to Gov. Kathy Hokle, which is then handed over to her signature.
This is Vanel’s second blockchain bill this year. A month ago, he surfaced Bill A06515. This calls for severe penalties for the founders of “crypto”. Last year, investors lost over $500 million in Lagpur, according to a Merkle Science report.
Meanwhile, the bill is the latest in the push of American blockchain and digital assets. The country has been a leader in the sector for years, but the election of Donald Trump accelerated the sector’s growth with new appointments and laws. Memocoin and speculative assets were first profitable, but this growth has spread across all aspects of the industry, with the state passing blockchain-friendly regulations to align with Trump’s agenda.
One such decisive bill is Utah’s HB230, which Gov. Spencer Cox signed the law two weeks ago. The bill protects the rights of residents to operate blockchain nodes, make digital payments and use their own hosted wallets.
Malaysian major political parties use blockchain in internal elections
Beyond the US, blockchain integration in elections has gained traction. In Malaysia, one of the country’s major political parties became the first to integrate technology to enhance election integrity.
Malaysian Prime Minister, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), a reformist party, has implemented blockchain in an ongoing internal election.
Fujia Sale, the party’s executive director, has made it clear that technology will be integrated at regional and national levels to increase transparency and security. Voting for local positions begins on April 11th and ends on April 20th. The central leadership election, including the presidency, will be in May.
“We have implemented a two-stage verification process to ensure transparency. The first step includes electronic ‘customer knowledge’ (EKYC) verification. This will verify the identity of the party members before registering for e-voting.”
“The second step is electronic voting using blockchain technology, where the ID of each registered voter is encrypted and unique. This means that you cannot replicate the encrypted ID, and therefore you cannot cast fraudulent votes.”
PKR boasts nearly 300,000 members eligible to vote in this election. According to Salleh, only 3% chose to vote physically. The rest will use a blockchain-powered electronic voting system.
“This step will make the PKR the first political party in Malaysia and implement a comprehensive technical approach in the internal democratic process, strengthening its role as a pioneer in technology-based, progressive political reform,” commented Zariha Mustafa, head of the party’s election committee.
Some countries, like Malaysia, have put blockchain on trial with small elections with lesser interests, but others, like Romania, have all come out. Eastern European countries used blockchain in their presidential elections last November. The country has anchored voter digital fingerprints to a network built on top of the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI).
Surveillance: Digital identity is the core part of Web3.
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