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"Migrating elections to a technology one needs mathematics/CS PhD to understand just a part of from technology that can be understood by a middle schooler doesn't seem all that great."

I for one am quite happy that a migration from horse carriages, understandable by a middle schooler, to cars and trains has happened.

I don't have a position on using the blockchain for elections, I'm just not convinced by your point.

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This probably means you're confused about what voting is for. Voting does not produce better results. What it does is give the voters confidence in the decision process. This confidence is damaged by difficult to understand technology. The boring paper ballot with an X on it is understandable to almost every citizen and so the legitimacy of results from that process is clearer.

Democracy is a good idea not because it results in good government, you have only to look around and see the hopeless incompetents elected around the world, but because it averts violent regime change. Why march on the capital with pitchforks when we can just vote for somebody else?

That's right. What matters is that the process looks fair to the average uninformed person, not that it is actually fair.

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