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BTC178: Auditing Elections with Bitcoin w/ Carlos Toriello (Bitcoin Podcast)

Apr 17, 2024

Carlos Toriello, a Guatemalan expert in election auditing and founder of Digital Witness, explores the revolutionary role of Bitcoin in ensuring electoral integrity. He discusses how the OP_Return feature enables tamper-evident documentation, enhancing trust in elections. Toriello shares insights from Guatemala's 2023 election audit and the impact of tools like OpenTimeStamps Protocol. He envisions a future with 'Immutable Democracy' and emphasizes educating youth through gamified blockchain verification. Join him in reimagining democracy through technology!

54:47

Episode guests

Carlos Toriello

AI Summary

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Bitcoin's OP_Return can revolutionize election audits by ensuring transparency and tamper-evident documents.

Gamifying election auditing with Bitcoin incentivizes youth involvement, educating on trust verification in electoral processes.

Deep dives

Using Bitcoin for Election Integrity

Blockchain technology, specifically Bitcoin, is applied to auditing election results in Guatemala. The process involves citizens overseeing voting tables, counting individual votes in public, and signing off on a tally sheet to ensure integrity. Documents from each voting table are made public, combined to maintain privacy, and verified through the blockchain, using the Open Timestamps protocol to prevent tampering.

Intro

2min

Bitcoin and Election Integrity

21min

Sponsors and Election Integrity

5min

Gamifying Election Audits with Bitcoin

7min

Revolutionizing Elections with Blockchain

10min

Voting Systems and Technology Trust

11min

Exploring the Intersection of Bitcoin and Electoral Integrity

3min

In our latest episode, we dive deep with Carlos Toriello into how Bitcoin’s OP_Return is pioneering election audits. We discuss transforming election skepticism into Bitcoin advocacy, highlighting Digital Witness's groundbreaking audit of Guatemala’s 2023 elections. Learn about Simple Proof, the OpenTimeStamps Protocol, and how these tools offer tamper-evident, verifiable documents, fostering trust and transparency. Join us in envisioning a future where digital integrity reshapes democracy.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

00:00 - Intro

01:42 - The transformative potential of Bitcoin’s OP_Return for auditing elections and ensuring transparency.

02:08 - How Digital Witness became the first to verify all available election documents in Guatemala, promoting trust.

02:08 - The role of Simple Proof and Peter Todd’s OpenTimeStamps Protocol in creating tamper-evident election documents.

02:08 - Insights into the 2019 Guatemalan elections, showcasing real-world applications of blockchain for combating election fraud.

18:28 - The educational aspect of Fiscal Digital, introducing students to blockchain through gamified verification of election results.

28:23 - The concept behind "Immutable Democracy" and its implications for future election integrity.

35:34 - Recommendations for election system administrators worldwide on leveraging blockchain technology for transparency.

35:34 - A look forward to the 2027 elections and the potential for blockchain to revolutionize electoral processes further.

Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

Link to Seb’s book: The Hidden Cost of Money.
Carlos' Twitter.
Digital Witness' Website.
Digital Witness' Email.
English friendly documentary #PaperDemocracy.
NOSTR npub: npub14advhxua8w78gl2z7q8c4s20htxkzq4cu5mhj34ep0puf7smyqzszrd7qq
NOSTR NIP 05: DigitalWitness@BitcoinNostr.com
Simple Proof's Website.
Simple Proof's Email.
Immutable Democracy Documentary.
NOSTR npub: npub145lf2q6sgqtkhjzzeza29ss6gz7qq4j6vslaa0dwanvgf58ey3us069hce
NOSTR NIP 05: simpleproof@nostr.gt
Stakwork's Website.
Stakwork's Twitter.
Stakwork's Email.
OpenTimestamps' Website.
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