In one of the first tests of blockchain voting, in 2016, the country of Colombia gave expatriate Colombians the opportunity to cast a symbolic (uncounted) vote on whether to approve an important peace treaty between the government and a rebel group, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, or FARC. In addition to allowing a “yes” or “no” vote, the Plebiscito Digital (Digital Plebiscite) ballots that appeared online, on phones or computers, offered “subthemes” about specifics regarding land redistribution, narcotics trafficking, and other related topics that the expatriates could vote on. These questions were called “liquid Democracy,” because they were less rigid than straight up or down votes.

While overall the vote was a success, the organizations that sponsored it discovered several problems with blockchain voting, at least among expatriate Colombians:

• The tech wasn’t well enough developed and the interfaces weren’t easy enough to use.

• Some people didn’t have high-speed Internet, or great computer skills, and might not have voted at all.

• There was a lack of support from political leaders and organizations.

Still, it was a remarkable early test of what the future of voting could hold.