Government of Catalonia mulls introducing blockchain-based e-voting system

The Government of Catalonia is reportedly considering introducing blockchain technology in the community’s e-voting system.

Referring to report from Spanish news outlet La Vanguardia, CoinTelegraph reported that Ismael Peña-López, director of Citizen Participation of the Government of Catalonia, said that the government is still considering blockchain technology, adding that no decision has been made yet.

Last month, the Generalitat of Catalonia, which consists of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, and the Executive Council of Catalonia, approved a preliminary bill for setting up an electronic voting system, which would allow residents living abroad to cast their votes in major elections and other voting processes.

Peña-López recently revealed that the government is planning to roll out an external e-voting system by 2020, as well as to extend e-voting to all voters.

"An interesting option is to use blockchain. [...] The Generalitat has not made a clear commitment to the blockchain and is still exploring what options there are before deciding,” Peña-López said.

Regardless of what technology the government decides to use in the voting system, it must instill trust, he added.

Earlier in July, the Catalan government announced its plans to implement blockchain technology in its public administration processes in order to enhance “digital services to the public.”