Referendum websites in the spotlight as witnesses take the stand

Digital entrepreneurs and IT workers testified in the Supreme Court in the trial of Catalan leaders on Wednesday afternoon, to give testimony on the digital tools used to enable the independence referendum on October 1, 2017.

Businessman and IT expert, Vicente Nos Ripollés, was the first to take the stand, saying he met the Catalan president and vice president in the summer of 2017, to discuss a blockchain voting system.

According to Nos, the electoral system they discussed would allow voting from abroad, at a cost of "some 400,000 to 500,000 euros." However, Nos did not accept the project, as "I didn't know who I had to bill for the work."

The next witness, Quim Franquesa, said he was contacted by Catalan official Xavier Vendrell, who asked him if he could "develop an electronic voting system," and was told the referendum "would be legal through a law to be voted on in parliament."