SALT LAKE CITY and DENVER, March 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Officials from the Denver Elections Division announced today that Voatz, the blockchain meets voting portfolio company of Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK) will collaborate with Tusk Philanthropies to introduce a pilot program for the upcoming Denver municipal elections allowing voters to use their own smartphones to cast votes.
As part of the pilot program, active-duty military personnel and eligible dependents as well as other overseas voters can vote using a blockchain-based smartphone app. Denver voters will be able to vote in the May 2019 election, which includes the Denver mayoral race in which Mayor Michael Hancock is seeking re-election.
“Voatz has already undergone dozens of successful pilots, but the work the team is doing with the city of Denver has the feel of an ice-breaking moment for the world of voting security,” said Overstock.com CEO and founder Patrick M. Byrne. “I applaud the innovative and forward-looking thinking of the Denver Elections Division and the seeds they have sown towards a true democratic system in which everyone has the ability to cast their vote in a secure and easily accessible way.”
Voatz is a mobile elections platform that makes it possible to vote from a mobile device by leveraging the technology and immutability of blockchain alongside existing smartphone security protocols. Since June 2016, more than 80,000 votes have been cast on the Voatz platform across more than 30 elections.
"With this pilot program, Denver is leading the effort to make voting more convenient, accessible and secure for deployed military personnel and overseas US citizens," said Nimit Sawhney, CEO and co-founder of Voatz. "The latest developments in smartphone hardware, encryption and blockchain technology make mobile voting a reality. This is a significant stepping stone that I hope many other states and cities will follow."
Voatz is a portfolio company of Overstock’s wholly-owned blockchain subsidiary, Medici Ventures. Medici Ventures was founded in 2014 to apply blockchain technology to existing markets to democratize capital, eliminate middlemen, and re-humanize commerce.
Today, Medici Ventures oversees a global portfolio of companies focused on developing the foundation of a “tech stack for society” based on trust systems utilizing blockchain and other related technologies instead of frictional middlemen. Medici Ventures’ portfolio companies are introducing blockchain technologies to industries such as money and banking, capital markets, property, voting, supply chain, and identity.
About Overstock.com
Overstock.com, Inc Common Shares (NASDAQ:OSTK) / Series A Preferred (Medici Ventures’ tZERO platform: OSTKP) / Series B Preferred (OTCQX:OSTBP) is an online retailer and technology company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Its leading e-commerce website sells a broad range of new products at low prices, including furniture, décor, rugs, bedding, home improvement, and more. The online shopping site, which is visited by nearly 40 million customers a month, also features a marketplace providing customers access to millions of products from third-party sellers. Overstock was the first major retailer to accept cryptocurrency in 2014, and in the same year founded Medici Ventures, its wholly-owned subsidiary developing and accelerating blockchain technologies to democratize capital, eliminate middlemen, and re-humanize commerce. Overstock regularly posts information about the company and other related matters on the Newsroom and Investor Relations pages on its website, Overstock.com.
O, Overstock.com, O.com, Club O, Main Street Revolution, and Worldstock are registered trademarks of Overstock.com, Inc. O.biz and Space Shift are also trademarks of Overstock.com, Inc. Other service marks, trademarks and trade names which may be referred to herein are the property of their respective owners.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements include all statements other than statements of historical fact. Additional information regarding factors that could materially affect results and the accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained herein may be found in the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2018, which was filed with the SEC on November 9, 2018, and any subsequent filings with the SEC.
SOURCE: Overstock.com, Inc.
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