Screven County, Georgia made history on November 5, 2024 when it became the first county in the United States to utilize the Bitcoin blockchain to secure the results of its elections.
The Screven County Board of Elections collaborated with Simple Proof, a U.S. company specializing in safeguarding digital records using the Bitcoin blockchain, to ensure the integrity of their election results.
Stacy Scott Mincey, the Election Supervisor of Screven County, enlisted the services of Simple Proof to prevent any doubts about the handling of votes in her county, particularly in light of the controversies surrounding security and voter fraud in a different Georgia county during the 2020 elections.
“One of my main objectives was to instill a sense of security among the county residents, assuring them that their votes matter, especially given the heightened concerns about election security and fraud,” Mincey explained in an interview. “Engaging Simple Proof was a crucial step we took to ensure that our election results remain untampered with.”
Understanding Simple Proof’s Functionality
Simple Proof gained recognition for its immutable proof service, which was employed to protect the results of Guatemala’s recent presidential election, as featured in the documentary ‘Immutable Democracy’.
Utilizing an open-source protocol called OpenTimestamps, developed by Peter Todd, a former Bitcoin Core developer, Simple Proof enables cryptographic timestamping through hash functions to preserve information on Bitcoin’s immutable ledger. The data is stored in the OP_RETURN function of a Bitcoin transaction, allowing the party initiating the transaction to include arbitrary information, akin to the “memo” section on a physical check.
Individuals can verify this immutable proof on Simple Proof’s platform or independently via the Bitcoin blockchain in a trustless manner. Essentially, Simple Proof empowers the public to authenticate election results and other official documents once they are secured by the Bitcoin blockchain.
Integration of Simple Proof in Screven County
In the context of the Screven County elections, the information stored on the blockchain encompassed the Election Summary Reports, containing vote tallies, and the Statement of Votes Cast, offering a comprehensive overview of election results and related details.
Carlos Toriello, Elections Lead at Simple Proof, emphasized their efforts to streamline the process for Mincey in safeguarding these documents.
“Our aim was to make this process seamless for Stacy,” Toriello shared during an interview.
He further explained that Mincey simply had to email the documents to Simple Proof’s immutable proof service, which automatically timestamped the documents on the blockchain.
The initial timestamping took place at 7:54 p.m. EST on November 5, 2024, and can be accessed through the Simple Proof verification page.
“Block number 869,047 marks the first instance of a U.S. election being documented on Bitcoin’s blockchain,” Toriello noted.
Ensuring the Integrity of Screven County’s Voting System
While Simple Proof secures voting records, it does not validate the legitimacy of the votes, a responsibility that rests with the local board of elections in the U.S.
“In Georgia, the Secretary of State plays a vital role in ensuring the security of elections,” Mincey affirmed.
She elaborated on their voting process, involving machines and paper ballots, which allows for manual counting in case of discrepancies. Mincey emphasized the importance of conducting audits to verify the accuracy of machine-generated reports through hand-counting a portion of the ballots.
“Our county conducts audits where we manually count a sample of the ballots to ensure alignment with the machine-generated results,” Mincey detailed. “This additional security measure ensures the validity of the elections.”
Discovery and Adoption of Simple Proof by Mincey
Besides her expertise in voting procedures, Mincey also possesses knowledge of Bitcoin, which led to her encounter with Toriello.
Members of Mincey’s meetup group attended Bitcoin 2024 last July, where they connected with Toriello and Simple Proof’s team at their booth. Toriello and his team were advocating for the protection of public records through Bitcoin’s immutable technology.
“Our message was clear: Uncle Honey Badger wants you to safeguard elections with Bitcoin,” Toriello humorously remarked.
Following a conversation at the event, a group member maintained contact with Toriello. In September, Mincey’s meetup group invited Toriello to virtually address one of their meetings.
“After his presentation, I engaged with him to explore how we could ensure the verification of our election results,” Mincey shared. “I was truly impressed by their utilization of Simple Proof in Guatemala.”
Subsequently, in late October, Mincey proposed implementing Simple Proof at a board meeting, which received unanimous approval. She reached out to Toriello, leading to the successful collaboration witnessed in Screven County.
Future Prospects for Simple Proof
Toriello envisions a broader implementation of Simple Proof following its triumph in Screven County and advocates for its adoption statewide in Georgia for upcoming elections.
“The efficiency demonstrated in a county within a week prompts us to consider deploying this across all counties in Georgia moving forward,” Toriello suggested.
Mincey shares the aspiration for every county in Georgia to embrace Simple Proof, expressing her initial intent for statewide adoption during the recent election cycle.
“I aimed to introduce this at a state level for wider usage, but time constraints hindered the rollout,” Mincey lamented. “Nonetheless, I believe in the potential of Simple Proof for ensuring election integrity.”
Toriello’s ambitions extend beyond Georgia, foreseeing a nationwide acceptance of Simple Proof as more counties and states recognize its value following the successful partnership with Screven County.
“We are optimistic about the widespread adoption of our services, given its simplicity and affordability for authorities,” Toriello concluded.
“Our outlook is positive.”