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Transforming Voting Systems with Attestations

Challenge in Voting Systems​

The prevailing issue with existing voting systems lies in their susceptibility to fraud, misrepresentation, and a lack of transparency. Tokenized voting systems, as seen in various DAOs, exacerbate the problem by fostering voter apathy, resulting in unequal outcomes favoring those with more tokens. These challenges collectively erode the trust in the democratic process.

A Promising Solution​

Attestations present a secure and transparent approach to implementing digital voting systems. This innovative method allows for the verification of voters as unique individuals, ensuring that their votes are recorded in an immutable, tamper-proof, and transparent manner.

Flexibility and Customizability​

Voting systems utilizing attestations provide flexibility and customization, accommodating various voting mechanisms like quadratic voting or one person one vote. Applicable to both online communities and national elections, these systems ensure fair and democratic voting that is open to audit and verification by any concerned party.

Illustrative Scenario​

Consider a scenario where a DAO needs to elect new leaders. Each DAO member possesses a unique membership attestation. To cast a vote, members attest or vote for their preferred candidate. The entire voting process is transparent, with votes securely recorded on the blockchain. After the voting period concludes, tallies are calculated based on the attestations. The quadratic voting system guarantees an equal say for each member, and the use of attestations upholds the election's integrity and transparency.

Model Schema​

Here is a sample schema: The attester (DAO member) makes an attestation to the candidate's address, serving as the recipient of the attestation. Subsequently, the DAO member casts the desired number of votes for that candidate and discloses their role. For enhanced efficiency and scalability, tuples can be employed to map the candidate ID and the votes received, facilitating straightforward vote counting and tallying. The schema is structured as follows:

  • uint64 votes
  • bytes32 roleID

Unleashing New Possibilities​

Attestations have the power to unlock diverse applications for digital trust online. By fortifying voting systems with enhanced security and transparency, traditional models can evolve towards fairness and democracy. As digital identities gain robustness through attestations, the implementation of voting systems becomes more accessible, paving the way for limitless possibilities in future composability. This evolution holds promise for advanced reputation systems, refined decision-making processes, and the exploration of novel use cases beyond current limitations.