Category Archives: Press

21 Jul

Voatz Mobile Voting Platform Verified as Compliant with Federal Voting System Guidelines by Independent Testing Lab

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Voatz Mobile Voting Platform Verified as Compliant with Federal Voting System Guidelines by Independent Testing Lab

BOSTON, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Voatz, a leading mobile voting platform, meets the applicable requirements for U.S. voting systems, according to Pro V&V, an independent, federally-certified Voting System Test Laboratory (VSTL).  Pro V&V recently completed comprehensive testing of the Voatz Remote Accessible Ballot Delivery, Marking and Return (RABDMR) System. In a 47-page report, Pro V&V concluded that the Voatz platform “meets the applicable requirements set forth for voting systems in the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) 2015 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG), Version 1.1, with clarifications or exceptions noted in Section 4.0 of the final version of Pro V&V Test Report.”  A summary of the report has been made public on the Voatz […]

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18 Jul

See Voatz’s White Paper Published at the 2020 NASS Summer Conference

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See Voatz’s White Paper Published at the 2020 NASS Summer Conference

Voatz recently submitted a white paper shared by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), entitled “Standardization of Remote Ballot Marking & Return Through a Rigorous National Study & Examination”. The paper calls for a comprehensive study focused on defining the security and functional requirements for apps designed to receive the appropriate blank ballot, enable marking of the ballot, and assure the return of a ballot using a commercial off-the-shelf computer. This study should consider if these apps can take full advantage of the security features of the platform, while being able to verify the voter, secure their markings of the ballot, encrypt & guarantee the return of the […]

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30 Apr

Utah GOP Sets the Standards for Mobile Voting in Groundbreaking Virtual Convention

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Utah GOP Sets the Standards for Mobile Voting in Groundbreaking Virtual Convention

Full press release issued here. BOSTON and SALT LAKE CITY, April 30, 2020 — Voatz, the Boston-based mobile voting platform, today announced the successful completion of a first-of-its-kind virtual convention with the Utah Republican Party to narrow down key races in upcoming elections, including the race for governor and the 4th Congressional seat. 7,430 delegates were credentialed using the Voatz platform to participate across this year’s state convention, and five local county conventions. In the state convention, the party witnessed a record-breaking 93% participation rate, voting via the Voatz app using smartphones. This election also reflects the largest use of ranked-choice voting in Utah’s history.  Voatz was engaged to work with the state at the end of March. Building […]

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13 Feb

Voatz Open Press Call Transcribed from February 13, 2020

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The following Voatz press call took place on February 13, 2020 from 1-1:30pm ET. The contents of the call are transcribed below, lightly edited for punctuation and typos. Full audio is available here. Robert Dowling, Moderator: Use the chat function to send us your questions. Direct all your questions to moderator and that way we will take them on as we have with, on a first come first serve basis. As some of you know, Voatz is regularly called on by members of the media and influencer community to respond to all kinds of conversations, including what’s been raised by The New York Times today. Voatz as a small team […]

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13 Feb

Voatz Response to Researchers’ Flawed Report

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Voatz wishes to acknowledge the enormous effort it must have taken for the team of researchers, until this point anonymous to us, to produce “The Ballot is Busted Before the Blockchain: A Security Analysis of Voatz, the First Internet Voting Application Used in U.S Federal Elections”.  Our review of their report found three fundamental flaws with their method of analysis, their untested  claims, and their bad faith recommendations. First, the researchers were analyzing an Android version of the Voatz mobile voting app that was at least 27 versions old at the time of their disclosure and not used in an election. Had the researchers taken the time, like nearly 100 […]

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4 Feb

Statement on the Iowa Caucus

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Voatz is following the news from Iowa closely and we are interested, like everyone else, in learning what happened. We are unable to comment on the technology used by The Iowa Democratic Party. We’ve never previously heard of the technology nor the company behind it. However, we want to make it clear that Voatz was not involved in the Iowa caucuses, and using an app to tabulate in-person caucus votes is not mobile voting. To make the distinction abundantly clear, Voatz is a mobile elections platform built to ensure an accessible, secure voting method for groups that otherwise face difficulties with the voting options currently available (i.e. overseas citizens, deployed […]

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23 Jan

Voatz Shortlisted for the 2020 GSMA Global Mobile Awards

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Voatz Shortlisted for the 2020 GSMA Global Mobile Awards

The Voatz team is delighted and honored to be shortlisted for the 2020 Global Mobile Awards in “5c. Best Mobile Innovation for Accessibility & Inclusion” section of the Tech4Good category organized by GSMA. “The GLOMO Awards provide a world stage on which to celebrate the most inspirational and innovative developments across our industry, recognising the companies and individuals leading the way in everything from 5G & intelligent Connectivity to emerging market innovation and diversity in tech. The awards attract a significant level of high-quality entries, so being nominated today is a great achievement. We wish everyone the very best of luck and we look forward to some exciting announcements at […]

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4 Dec

Pierce County, Washington, Completes Successful Mobile Voting Pilot

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Pierce County, Washington, Completes Successful Mobile Voting Pilot

In the November 2019 General Election, Pierce County, Washington successfully piloted an expansion of mobile voting to its military and overseas voters. These efforts were in support of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) and the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act. “The imminent withdrawal from the Postal Union created an imperative. Knowing that the biggest barrier for military voters is the transit time to receive and return a ballot, we weren’t willing to risk additional delays,” said Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson. Voatz, a mobile elections platform, was used in the pilot. Eligible registered voters received, marked, verified and submitted their ballots using their personal […]

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4 Nov

Voatz Collaborates with WGBH’s National Center for Accessible Media to Make Mobile Voting Accessible for Voters with Disabilities and Citizens Residing Overseas

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Voatz Collaborates with WGBH’s National Center for Accessible Media to Make Mobile Voting Accessible for Voters with Disabilities and Citizens Residing Overseas

BOSTON, Nov. 04, 2019 — Voatz, a Boston-based elections company focused on secure mobile voting , announced a collaboration with the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible Media at WGBH Educational Foundation (NCAM) to test the accessibility features of the company’s secure mobile voting application. The mobile voting application, available on compatible Android and iOS devices, allows deployed military personnel and overseas U.S. citizens, as well as people with disabilities, to conveniently and securely vote in elections with their smartphones from virtually anywhere in the world.   “We’re proud to collaborate with NCAM to help make sure people with disabilities have accessible means to raise their voices in […]

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16 Oct

Mobile Voting Expands to Jackson County and Umatilla County in Oregon

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Mobile Voting Expands to Jackson County and Umatilla County in Oregon

We are delighted to announce the launch of new pilot programs with Jackson County and Umatilla County in Oregon that will provide mobile voting secured by the blockchain to deployed military personnel and overseas United States citizens during the 2019 general elections this year. We commend Jackson County and Umatilla County teams for seeking new, innovative technologies to improve our election infrastructure and provide secure, auditable, transparent voting options for voters. With this pilot program, Jackson County and Umatilla County are leading the effort in the State of Oregon to make voting more convenient and accessible for deployed military personnel and overseas US citizens. The latest developments in smartphone hardware, […]

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16 Oct

Utah County Expands Mobile Voting to Include Voters With Disabilities

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Utah County Expands Mobile Voting to Include Voters With Disabilities

We are delighted to announce that Utah County has broadened the eligibility in the ongoing mobile voting pilot as part of the 2019 Municipal General Elections to include voters with disabilities, marking the first time mobile voting will be offered to U.S. citizens other than military and overseas voters. “This is the first election where we are expanding mobile voting for the disability community and providing them the option to vote from their mobile device,” said Bradley Tusk, founder and CEO of Tusk Philanthropies. “We are making voting accessible to new communities, increasing voter turnout, conducting new pilots and auditing that each election to ensure that votes cast over the blockchain […]

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1 Oct

Statement on Intrusion Attempt During WV Election

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Voatz confirms that on October 25, 2018, there was an unsuccessful attempt to gain entry into the Voatz system during the West Virginia mobile voting pilot for the 2018 U.S. Federal Midterm Election. The attempt was detected, blocked and reported in detail to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office. We want to re-emphasize that this attempt targeted our live system and not our replica system made available to researchers as part of our Bug Bounty program. While probes  into IT systems and general infrastructure across the nation are fairly common, as of January 2017, the Department of Homeland Security designated election infrastructure as part of the nation’s critical infrastructure, […]

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13 Jul

Why the Slate Story Completely Misses the Point

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In light of a recent article focused on Voatz, we wanted to share our perspective and address some of the incorrect claims made about the 2018 West Virginia pilot. While the questions raised are not unique for a startup company like ours operating in this space, we want to make it very clear that there was nothing in the voting process or the post-election audit process that was a concern. The article failed to accurately portray the added protections that the mobile blockchain infrastructure provides, or the fact that this pilot was a significant improvement to the current voting methods (fax, email, postal mail) offered to UOCAVA voters. Delays in […]

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6 Jun

Voatz Raises $7 Million Series A Led by Medici Ventures and Techstars

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Voatz Raises $7 Million Series A Led by Medici Ventures and Techstars

BOSTON, June 6, 2019 — Voatz, a mobile-focused voting and citizen engagement platform, announced today that it has raised $7 million in Series A funding led by Medici Ventures and Techstars with participation from Urban Innovation Fund and Oakhouse Partners. The company plans to leverage the funds to enhance the accessibility and usability of its technology, and to grow its security footprint as it launches new pilot programs with states, cities and select international jurisdictions. Voatz enables citizens to vote in many types of elections and voting events via a secured smartphone or tablet. Earlier this year in March 2019, the company announced a new pilot program with the City and County […]

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7 Aug

Official Statement from Voatz Regarding Mobile Voting Pilot in West Virginia

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We are thrilled our efforts to make mobile voting a reality are sparking an engaged conversation around the nation’s first mobile voting pilot in a federal election. In our three years as a company, more than 75,000 votes have been cast on our platform, and we’ve administered more than 30 pilot elections. With each election we’ve learned something new, and we will continue to take the time necessary to ensure that the voting process is secure for voters. As with the implementation of all new election technologies, the implementation of mobile voting will be a process. It is not something that can, nor that we want to, happen overnight.   […]

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13 Feb

Voatz and Clear Ballot Announce Partnership to Explore Blockchain Technology for Remote Voting

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After  more than a year of investigation and collaboration, two Boston-based companies, Voatz, Inc. and Clear Ballot Group, Inc. are announcing their partnership to accelerate the introduction of secure, accessible remote voting in elections. Voatz brings an open source blockchain platform designed for secure, high volume remote voting on smartphones and tablets. It has been independently evaluated for security and has already been piloted successfully in several private and municipal elections in 2016.  Clear Ballot, a voting system company, has provided the Voatz team with election industry knowledge, market requirements and a rich sample election dataset that allows their engineers to understand and build support for the complexities and scale […]

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5 Oct

Voatz at HUBWeek 2016!

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Team Voatz recently participated in Boston’s HUBWeek, where we spread the word on our cutting-edge mobile voting software. Here are some highlights for those of you who missed out on last week’s festivities: On Thursday 9/29, co-founder and CEO Nimit Sawhney presented at HUBWeek’s The Hype and Promise of Blockchain event at the Boston Federal Reserve. For Voatz, the advent of blockchain is all promise and no hype. Nimit’s presentation covered how the Voatz software uses blockchain technology to protect and secure votes. In short, blockchain is a continuously growing list of data,  in which each individual piece of information is linked to the preceding and subsequent “block” of data. […]

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25 May

Yodlee’s Jeff Cain Talks About Voatz in the Silicon Valley Techflash

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Jeff Cain, who directs the Envestnet | Yodlee Incubator, has had a ringside seat on innovation happening in the FinTech space. What are some examples of non-fintech companies you have worked with? In our first cohort, we had Voatz, which has a mobile voting application. Whether it’s voting for mayor or student body president or, hopefully eventually, national president, they help you do it on on your phone using our account verification technology, along with a bunch of biometrics, as one of their ways to prove that you are who you say you are. You guys haven’t gotten involved in any of the virtual currency plays, right? Within the incubator itself […]

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8 Mar

Voatz Wins the Audience Favorite Award at Mass Innovation Nights

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The Voatz team was honored to receive the Audience Favorite award at the Mass Innovation Nights #84 at District Hall in Boston on March 8th 2016. Many thanks to the Mass Innovation Nights team and Microsoft for sponsoring the event and to District Hall for hosting us. The event brought together all facets of the civic tech ecosystem, from the big players like our sponsor Microsoft New England, to the grassroots participants like our featured startups, to the Massachusetts government. The night featured experts from Microsoft, Business Insurance & Benefits Services of MA, Resilient Coders and a representative from Emerson College. The government also announced a new initiative called GovNext. From their […]

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11 Jan

Why Innovative Companies Are Using the Blockchain

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Voatz is one of the startups featured in a two part series on the different types of blockchain startups. Part one discusses public blockchains. Part two will discuss private blockchains. Depending on who you ask, you might hear that the concept of the blockchain is as dramatic as the creation of the internet […] Source: Why Innovative Companies Are Using The Blockchain

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7 Oct

Voatz Is Selected to Present at Harvard’s #Tech4Democracy Showcase and Challenge

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The Voatz team is honored to be selected to participate in this event as part of HUBWeek. The “showcase” features students and alumni from Harvard University and other area universities, as well as civic tech startups, entrepreneurs, and passionate citizens from across the Greater Boston area. Each presenter will demonstrate their idea through posters, prototypes, and other creative demonstrations. The “challenge” features an esteemed panel of experts and leaders in the local civic tech movement to select the best idea/demonstration. In addition, everyone will be invited to vote for their favorite idea. The #Tech4Democracy Showcase and Challenge was organized with support from: Boston Civic Media Consortium The City of Boston The City […]

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