Ep 83 Election Authenticity in Latin America and beyond

Together let’s count all the votes

Carlos Torriellos is changing the political system in Latin America. He is the face of a volunteer group, consisting of concerned citizens in Guatemala, called Fiscal Digital. This translates to, “The Digital Witness”. Their goal is to certify post-election paper ballot results in a corrupt and broken system.

Last year, in mid 2019, Guatemala held an election. Everything was going fine, until doubt was cast on the official results through social media. The situation escalated quickly and no one seemed to have a solution. The election officials began searching for a solution.

Back in 2018, Carlos and some colleagues built the system that is now being utilized by the Guatemalan government. The platform wasn’t originally built for certifying election results. Their plans to gain traction and revenue diminished and they tabled the project temporarily. Then it happened. Opportunity came a knockin’.

The stage was set. The Guatemalan government was in quite a predicament. Unrest was at hand. The election officials were in a tough spot and like a knight in shining armor, Fiscal Digital appeared. Fortunately, their solution was simple. Authenticate election results in real time.

Carlos gets into the details around the 07:46 mark.

Something as simple as having multiple people check the digital signatures of the images and tally the votes on those images while arriving at the same conclusion is enough to authenticate election results. The system is live now. You can see results and participate yourself on the Fiscal Digital website.

The US Government needs this tech

Governments should consider using Fiscal Digital is an inexpensive process to determine election authenticity in near real time. The code is already available. Instead of UBI, give out election audit jobs. Reward people for doing the audit work and tallying votes. It’s cheaper and builds a more sustainable economy if you pay the citizens to act as the witness. Not to mention giving the people the transparency they so desperately deserve.

Their motivation is nearly as impressive as their solution. If you know people in governments who can give this project visibility, please make sure to contact Carlos. His information is below. What they are doing has the ability to bring back the sanctity of democratic elections. Give the power to the people and let them check the results.

Quote your favorite moment and tag @CoinStructive, @djkinkle, @carlostoriello, #Fiscal_Digital & #LABradio.

Enjoy!

Further Reading and Resources

Carlos Torriellos Herrerrias, Volunteer & Champion at Fiscal Digital – LinkedIn – Twitter

Fiscal Digital – Website – Email – YouTube – Facebook – Github – Use hashtag #Fiscal_Digital