Voatz is currently only available for elections in jurisdictions that are actively engaged in a pilot or on a contractual basis.
If a voter lives in a jurisdiction offering Voatz, the process is as follows:
- REQUEST – A voter requests to vote absentee from their jurisdiction and indicates that they would like to “vote mobile” (which often requires filling out an “absentee voter request form”).
- VERIFY – The voter receives an invitation to download the Voatz app and verify their identity (usually by scanning a government-issued photo ID).
- VOTE – Once verified, the voter votes on the smartphone and a paper ballot is produced at the jurisdiction for tabulation. The voter also receives a ballot receipt confirming their selections. Both documents are digitally signed with an anonymous ID to preserve privacy.
- CONFIRM – After the election, an audit confirms that the tabulation (paper ballots) match voter intent (ballot receipts).
In the third point above, the actual voting process begins once the voting window officially opens. When the voter opens the app, they will see a notification on the home screen indicating they have access to an active ballot in an ongoing election. When they open the ballot, they can tap to make selections for the candidate(s) and/or issue(s) of their choice, one contest at a time. Voters are prevented from making more selections than allowed for a given contest. This ensures that only the allotted number of votes is recorded. At any time before submission, the voter can review their choices and make changes if necessary. Once finished, the voter submits their ballot, and all information is anonymized and recorded on a blockchain network.