How Screven County, Georgia Became the First U.S. County to Use Bitcoin Blockchain for Election Security
Executive Summary
In November 2024, Screven County, Georgia made history by becoming the first U.S. county to use Bitcoin blockchain technology to secure election results. Partnering with Simple Proof, the county successfully timestamped their election certification documents to the Bitcoin blockchain, creating an immutable record that protects against tampering and provides unprecedented transparency.
Key Results:
100% tamper-proof records - Election results permanently secured on the Bitcoin blockchain
Rapid deployment - Implementation completed in just two weeks
Cost-effective solution - Affordable for even small rural counties with limited IT resources
Scalable technology - Capable of securing all digital government records
National recognition - Featured in bipartisan congressional resolution supporting blockchain for democracy
The Challenge: Election Integrity in the Digital Age
Screven County faced the same challenges confronting election officials nationwide: ensuring public trust in digital election systems while protecting against sophisticated cyber threats. With increasing concerns about election security and data integrity, traditional methods of storing and transmitting election results were proving insufficient.
Specific Challenges:
Vulnerability during data transmission - Election results become vulnerable the moment they connect to the internet
Limited IT resources - Small county election offices lack extensive cybersecurity infrastructure
Public trust concerns - Growing demand for verifiable, transparent election processes
Future-proofing - Need for protection against evolving threats including AI manipulation
As Stacy Scott Mincey, Screven County's Election Supervisor, explained: "One of her main goals was to make sure that everyone feels secure that their votes are counted."
The Solution: Bitcoin-Powered Election Security
Simple Proof implemented their Immutable Proof service to create permanent, tamper-proof records of Screven County's election certification documents. The solution leverages Bitcoin's Timechain and the OpenTimestamps protocol to timestamp digital records with mathematical certainty.
How It Works:
Standard Election Process - Screven County conducted elections normally using existing voting machines and paper ballots
Digital Certification - Election officials generated standard certification documents and reports
Secure Hashing - Documents were hashed using SHA-256 cryptographic functions
Bitcoin Timestamping - Document hashes were anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain via Merkle trees
Permanent Record - Block 869,047 became the first block in Bitcoin's chain that contains proof of a U.S. election
Implementation: From Pilot to Production in Two Weeks
The implementation process demonstrated Simple Proof's ability to rapidly deploy enterprise-grade security solutions even in resource-constrained environments.
Timeline and Process
Week 1: Planning and Integration
Initial consultation with election officials
System integration with existing workflows
Staff training on new processes
Week 2: Testing and Deployment
Live testing with actual election data
Final system verification
Go-live for November 2024 elections
Seamless Integration
The solution integrated smoothly with Screven County's existing infrastructure:
Minimal disruption - No changes to voting machines or ballot processing
Simple workflow - Election supervisor sends documents via secure email
Automated processing - Documents automatically hashed and timestamped
Instant verification - Results immediately available for public verification
Results: Setting New Standards for Election Security
The deployment delivered immediate and lasting benefits for Screven County and established a new benchmark for election security nationwide.
Quantifiable Benefits
Security Enhancement:
100% tamper detection - Any unauthorized changes to documents are immediately detectable
New standard of protection - Screven County became the first County in the entire United States where their election results were protected by the security and resiliency of the Bitcoin network
Future-proof security - Protection against emerging threats including AI manipulation
Operational Efficiency:
Rapid deployment - Full implementation in just 14 days
Minimal training required - Single staff member easily managed the entire process
Cost-effective - The company implemented this system in a week, proving that it can be introduced in the entire state as well
Scalable solution - Can accommodate unlimited document volume
National Impact
The success in Screven County has catalyzed broader adoption:
Congressional recognition - The press release also cited how, in Screven County, Georgia, the Bitcoin blockchain was used to safeguard election results and provide transparency to voters
Bipartisan support - Featured in proposed legislation recognizing Bitcoin's role in supporting democracy
Replication success - Simple Proof recently helped a primary election in Williamson County, Tennessee do the same with the results of its party leadership vote
Stakeholder Testimonials
Election Officials
"We didn't want to just implement technology for technology's sake. This gives us mathematical proof that our results haven't been tampered with, which is exactly what voters deserve." — Stacy Scott Mincey, Election Supervisor, Screven County
Technology Leadership
"Our solution is very useful for anchoring data onto a specific point in time using the Bitcoin blockchain, but people don't vote on the blockchain using Simple Proof. This computer tabulates the results and then the election supervisor timestamps that final report using Simple Proof." — Carlos Toriello, CEO, Simple Proof
Broader Applications: Beyond Elections
While election security provided the initial use case, Simple Proof's technology has broad applications across government and enterprise sectors.
Government Use Cases
Public records management - All government documents can be timestamped
Regulatory compliance - Permanent audit trails for regulatory filings
Freedom of Information Act Requests - Protecting public records from alteration
National archives - 100% of government records as of July 1st 2024 are digital and need protection
Enterprise Applications
Contract management - Immutable proof of agreement timestamps
Intellectual property - Establishing creation dates for patents and copyrights
Financial records - Tamper-proof audit trails for compliance
Supply chain - Verifiable tracking of goods and documents
Conclusion: Pioneering Digital Truth
Screven County's pioneering implementation of Bitcoin-based election security represents more than a technological milestone—it demonstrates a new paradigm for digital trust in democratic institutions. By choosing Simple Proof's solution, a small rural county with limited resources achieved a paradigm shift in security for their election records.
The success proves that advanced cryptographic security is no longer limited to large organizations with extensive IT departments. With Simple Proof's technology, any organization can implement permanent, tamper-proof record keeping quickly and cost-effectively.
As digital threats continue to evolve and public trust in institutions faces ongoing challenges, solutions like Simple Proof's immutable records offer a path toward greater transparency, accountability, and security. The work that the company has done both in the U.S. and abroad is a testament to a point Rep. Amo made in the press release: "Innovative technology like blockchain helps promote transparency and strengthen democratic institutions around the world."
