“If we look back in history, we’ll see that in each era, technological and scientific change gave birth to new forms of social and political organizations and new forms of governance,” said Antonio Mugica, CEO for Smartmatic, during his intervention at the ‘5 ideas to change the world’ event organized by The Spectator.
During his presentation, entitled “The Future of Democracy is Digital”, Mugica emphasized the role technology will play in creating new forms of governance. “In the future we will see a lot more participation, higher engagement and people will be more involved in decision making”.
As CEO of SGO and Smartmatic, Antonio Mugica has been actively involved in the development of innovative technologies to improve elections, increase participation and bolster democracy.
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SGO announced today a $3 million seed investment in eVote, a web and mobile platform designed to enable people and organizations to think, decide and act together.
Located in New York, eVote is currently in beta and working with a select group of clients across multiple consumer industries. eVote will be available to the public later this year.
“It’s rare to have a trifecta of an innovative business idea, experienced team, and the opportunity to create a meaningful impact,” says Peter Espersen, CEO and Co-Founder of eVote. “From my experience in leading Lego’s Digital Innovation and Crowdsourcing to nurturing big ideas across multiple incubators, eVote is the first technology platform that’s able to harness digital voices into actions and business decisions.”
eVote’s applications span private and public sectors for businesses and consumers. SGO is a strong partner whose shared vision and deep expertise will fuel eVote’s ability to inform, gather and make changes together.
“SGO looks for tools and solutions that will expand the infrastructure for democracy in the 21st century. The U.S. market is ready for something new and eVote has great potential to transform how societal challenges can be addressed,” says Antonio Mugica, CEO of SGO and Smartmatic.
Early access sign-up is available on www.evote.com
![[CNBC] How the selfie could make elections safer](https://w4ce34.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/CNBC---Smartmatic.png?time=1715754821)
The selfie, the act of self-portraiture which once threatened to spawn a society of narcissists, could be the key to a more politically engaged electorate, according to one technology company aiming to make the voting system more secure and democratic.
Smartmatic, a world-leading election technology firm, has designed a new app which enables people to vote using a selfie for authentication.
Verifying facial biometric data against government-issued ID documents, the software allows users to register and cast their vote via their mobile phone from any internet-enabled location.
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![[BBC] Selfies could make election voting ‘more accessible’, app makers say](https://w4ce34.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/tivi-smartmatic.png?time=1715754821)
Newsbeat had an exclusive demonstration of the software which uses facial recognition to let people register for elections and cast a vote.
Smartmatic, who developed the app, claim it is more secure than standard online banking or shopping systems.
The UK government told Newsbeat it’s committed to "embracing technology" but the paper ballot system is most secure.
The app uses facial biometric data combined with a government-issued ID card to create a digital identity.
Users can then log in by taking a selfie and cast their vote remotely, from any location.
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![[The Guardian] Our technology can clean up air pollution hotspots](https://w4ce34.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/pollution-sgo.jpg?time=1715754821)
Professor Lewis’s analysis of ways to tackle air pollution (10 ways to beat air pollution: how effective are they?, theguardian.com, 15 February) is disappointingly dismissive of technology that can work in bus shelters or other pollution hotspots. While these solutions can’t clean an entire atmosphere, there are places where they can make a huge difference and it would be shortsighted to sweep them aside.
Tests at King’s College London have independently verified that our technology can clean the air of dangerous and pervasive nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter in pollution hotspots. It can reduce exposure to pollution in bus shelters, tube stations, and potentially hospitals or schools, by up to 80%. The mixing of the atmosphere does not therefore “completely outweigh the benefits” as Professor Lewis claims.}
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London, United Kingdom – July 1, 2016 – New research by election technology firm Smartmatic and WebRoots Democracy illustrates the link between low youth turnout in elections and the UK’s outdated voting system. A survey found 45% of 18-24 year olds and 28% of 25-34 year olds who did not vote in the referendum said they would have been more likely to do so if they had been able to vote online, prompting calls from youth groups for immediate reforms to the UK voting system.
Based on population and turnout, the Smartmatic and WebRoots’ results revealed an estimated 502,000 18-24 year olds and 666,000 of 25-24 year olds would have voted if they could have voted online.
- Nearly three quarters of 18-24 year olds and two thirds of 25-34 year olds voted to Remain
- Polls have suggested that just over a third of 18-24 year olds and just over half 25-34 year olds actually cast their vote
- Across the country, areas with a lower median age saw a much lower turnout
- By contrast, 57% of 55-64 year olds and 60% of 65+ voted to Leave
- In 2015, a ComRes survey found that 57% of disenfranchised 18-24 year olds would be more likely to vote if they could do so online
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