Venture Capitalist Bradley Tusk Wants to Use Blockchain to Get Out the Vote
*By Chloe Aiello*
Political fixer-turned VC Bradley Tusk doesn't think it's sufficient to just bring voters to the polls ー he wants to bring the polls to them.
"We know, fundamentally, democracy works when a lot of people vote, and it really doesn't work when very few people vote." Tusk told Cheddar on Tuesday.
Best known for his efforts to help Uber battle taxi companies and fight regulators in cities nationwide, Tusk is backing a blockchain-based pilot program that is testing out mobile voting for deployed military in West Virginia. For now, only servicemen and women across 24 counties in West Virginia can participate, but once results come back from the midterms, Tusk said he hopes to rapidly expand the program.
"We are pretty close to Colorado ... talking to a whole bunch of other states. My hope would be we could do three or four in 2019, five or six in 2020, and at that point have proven that this is safe, it works and there's no reason not to let everyone vote on their phones," he said.
But it won't happen without the users, a fact Tusk learned when he was working with Uber.
"The reason we were able to win and beat back this cartel is because our customers were willing to [get] on their phones, advocate for us ... millions and millions of people did that. So I've already seen how it works. If they're willing to do it for a for-profit company, they're absolutely willing to do it for their own right to vote," he said.
Tusk also applauded Uber for its efforts [to get out the vote](https://cheddar.com/videos/lime-offering-free-scooter-rides-to-the-polls-joining-uber-lyft), by offering free rides or heavily discounted trips to voters trying to get to and from polling stations.
"Just as Uber has made it easy for people to get around cities, for people to go out at night and not have to worry about drinking and driving ー if they can offer people a way to get to and from the polls and it's a lot cheaper, maybe more people will vote," he said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/former-campaign-manager-for-bloomberg-bradley-tusk-weighs-in-on-bloomberg-2020-run-and-future-of-smartphone-voting).
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