Blockchain-based mobile voting startup Voatz Inc. has raised $2.2 million in a seed round that was led by Medici Ventures, Overstock.com Inc.’s venture arm.

Founded in 2014, Voatz offers a mobile election voting platform that uses smart biometric and real-time identification ID verification on top of a custom-built blockchain for security and irrefutability. The platform is pitched as enabling people to vote in many different types of elections and voting events via a secured smartphone or tablet, while at the same time overcoming concerns around security, auditability and voter anonymity.

Still in early days, Voatz’s platform nonetheless has already been used by several universities, labor unions, state political parties, church groups and nonprofit groups for their internal elections, convention voting and other voting functions.

Medici Ventures President Jonathan Johnson said in a statement that he thinks democracy will benefit greatly from improvements using blockchain technology. “For example, providing secure, immutable record-keeping will bring greater confidence in accurate results, and ease of use will lower the barrier to entry for citizens to participate in elections,” he said.

Julie Lein, managing partner of the Urban Innovation Fund, noted that Voatz takes on two main challenges in voting, low participation in local elections and a lack of citizen engagement. “Its mobile-first solution is poised to be a category leader, democratizing voting across government, corporate, academic and union elections,” she said.

Medici was joined in the funding by Urban Innovation Fund, Oakhouse Partners and a number of individual investors. Voatz said it plans to use the funding to build out its business development team, expand its reach across the United States and accelerate the development of new product features.

Image: Voatz