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The announcement’s timing is noteworthy, with the 2024 US presidential race having finished a month prior.
On Dec. 10, Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar announced the implementation of blockchain technology into the state’s electoral certification process.
While it’s unclear why the measure is only being implemented in December, more than a month after the resolution of the 2024 United States presidential election, Aguilar’s office says the move to blockchain will ensure election integrity going forward.
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Aguilar’s announcement said the state was “committed to running the most secure elections in the country,” and that blockchain technology was integral to those efforts:
“Blockchain adds important protection by making it much more difficult to alter or counterfeit these vital documents, ensuring that our certification process is both transparent and trustworthy. We are proud to lead the nation in utilizing emerging technology to protect the integrity of our elections."Details are currently scarce concerning the implementation. It’s unclear at this time whether the state has developed a proprietary blockchain or if it’s using existing commercial or open-source blockchain technology. Cointelegraph contacted the secretary’s office for more information but didn’t receive an immediate response.
Ostensibly, the electoral certification process itself will be recorded to an immutable ledger on a blockchain where it will then serve as the state’s official election ledger.
Related: What is blockchain technology? How does it work?
Fake elector allegations
The next step for the implementation will be for the state and national archives to certify the program, at which point Nevada would be among the first US states to use blockchain technology for electoral certification purposes. Alaska and Georgia have both piloted similar programs, and many other states have proposals in various stages of implementation.
In Nevada’s case, promises to shore up election integrity follow the indictment of six Republican certifiers in 2023 amid allegations that “fake electors” attempted to illegally overthrow the results of the 2020 US presidential election. The indictment was subsequently dismissed in court.
McDonald and Law, pictured among a group of Nevada Republicans who were indicted as “fake electors” in 2023. Source: Nevada GOP
Two of the six Republicans indicted, Nevada republican chair Michael McDonald and Clark County republican chair Jesse Law, eventually served as legitimate electors in the 2024 presidential race.
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