The French
commune of Verneuil-sur-Seine is using blockchain technology to vote in a
consultation over a 50-year-old road project between three towns.

According to Verneuil-sur-Seine’s official website, the commune as well as nearby towns Vernouillet and Chapet are allowing
blockchain-based votes through the Yvelinoise-based startup Avosvotes
from Oct. 1–8. Residents can voice their opinions on a road bypass
between the towns of Orgeval to Les Mureaux near the Seine River by
voting for or against the project. 

The blockchain voting app reportedly verifies residents’ identities, provides certificates stored on the Tezos blockchain
as proof votes were cast through smart contracts, and allows real-time
tracking as votes come in. The Verneuil-sur-Seine website states that
the consultation will occur simultaneously across the three towns, with
all results counted independently. 

“In Verneuil-sur-Seine, the
decentralized and secure voting evidence on the blockchain resulting
from French researchers at Tezos will make it possible to guarantee the
sincerity of the ballot,” said
Avosvotes CEO Florian Ribière. “The vote will thus be 100% secure and
each voter will be able to check that their vote has been taken into
account during the digital count.”

As of publishing time, residents of the commune with a population of roughly 16,000 have cast 476 votes. 

Though
blockchain-based voting has been touted as one solution to counter
voter fraud and election hacking, rollouts have not always been
successful. In Italy, blockchain voting in a 2017 election
concluded with additional cost and time required to release the
results. However, organizers at the Michigan Democratic Party State
Nominating Convention in August reportedly deployed blockchain voting platform Voatz successfully amid COVID-19 restrictions.