How Technology is Driving forward Higher Standards in Politics and Betting

Elections are one of the fundamental foundations of democracy.

09:35 07 April 2021

But, for centuries, and even today, they are plagued with issues. For example, voter fraud and issues with verifying the individual casting the vote. These issues make the electorate less confident in electoral processes and lead to fewer people voting in elections. Thankfully, technology is being introduced as a way to solve many of these issues and make the whole process a lot more secure.

 

Odds

 

With the London Mayor elections just around the corner, bookies are alight with London Mayoral election odds on who will win the race. But how do they come up with them? In today’s world, there are a number of technological tools that can be, and are, used to increase accuracy when predicting and setting odds. Artificial intelligence is just one example.

 

When combined with other technologies like big data and machine learning, AI can listen to ‘chatter’ on the internet, and quantify masses of data including news articles, search engine searches, social media posts, and even the tone of the language used. This can be compiled and processed to create accurate odds on who might win the electoral race. The integration of these technologies has meant that odds have become a lot more accurate, and bookies can be more specific. For example, as per the UK politics tips, the current favourite to win the London Mayoral elections is Sadiq Khan, and this prediction is likely based on the electronic analysis of millions, if not more data points.

 

Blockchain voting

 

Blockchain is a decentralised database that allows transactions to be registered in a secure and immutable manner. First used with cryptocurrency, it’s now found a variety of use cases in financial services, eCommerce, logistics, and democratic processes. Blockchain voting means that an individual’s vote is anonymised but stored on the blockchain. 

 

It eliminates the risk of voting fraud, votes going missing or being stolen, or votes being changed after they have been cast. Each vote is tied to a digitally authenticated identity which can be anonymised to ensure privacy and adherence with democratic values. The beauty of blockchain-based voting is that it can also allow people to vote remotely, either from abroad or at home depending on their particular needs. 

 

Biometric voting

 

As mentioned above, elections can greatly benefit from biometric voting. This is where the individual’s identity information is stored digitally and linked to biometric data such as fingerprints, iris scan, voice, or facial features. These things are hard to fake or falsify, meaning that the individual’s identity is almost impossible to forge. 

 

When it comes to voting, this is particularly advantageous as it eliminates the possibility of people voting on behalf of others, or casting votes of deceased people, or identities they have stolen. This will increase the reliability of election results, help settle disputes, and add to a stronger democracy within countries that opt to use it. There are, of course, some concerns about the privacy of personal data, but this can be addressed with laws and additional safeguards.

 

These methods will only ever be effective if they are widely implemented and monitored. But it's hoped that they will begin to be adopted more widely and will contribute to global strengthening of democracy.