[TriLUG] Open source voting software

[Jon Carnes]

The problem trying to be addressed by electronic voting is voter apathy.
Too many citizens look at voting as a chore.  Ultimately they think
their vote will not change anything, so why take the trouble of going to
vote. Other non-voting citizens feel uneducated about the candidates
(one is just as bad as the other so what difference does it make who
gets elected).

Electronic voting can help in both instances.  The voting can be done
from any internet connected computer - and those are everywhere!  So you
don't have to go out of your way or wait in lines to vote.  Also 
candidate names can be links which go to their web-sites.  Referendums
can have links going to sites for and against.  Voters can be instantly
educated.  Not ideal, but better than a random vote.

We'll need to police the Candidate websites to insure "truth in
advertising" but other than that, the whole process should be enhanced
by electronic voting.

As to election fraud, I'm sure we can put better protections on our
electronic voting than we currently have at our poll sites. Currently,
the folks simply ask for my name, look it up in a book, then pass me my
ballot.  No one ever asks for my identification!

Jon

On Fri, 2002-11-08 at 09:34, Jeremy Portzer wrote:
> On Fri, 2002-11-08 at 07:04, Mike Mueller wrote:
> > I saw a rant today associated with the Baldwin county Alabama vote tallying 
> > software glitch that suggested having open source voting system software.  
> > Not a bad idea.  Just make sure that the voting judges observe the loading of 
> > software into the machines.  Even with closed source software I wonder how 
> > voting fraud at the software level is prevented?
> 
> I'm of the opinion that ANY paperless voting system is a bad idea. 
> While certainly open source software is better, since people could
> independently look for problems, it doesn't mean there won't be
> problems.  And if there's a bug, how can you do an independent recount? 
> You can't.
> 
> The paper optical-scan system used in Wake & Durham counties is the best
> compromise I think.  The ballots are counted by computer normally, but
> the paper is available for a recount if necessary.  What's wrong with
> this system?  "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
> 
> Here's a good article critiquing electronic voting, with a number of
> references to other resources on this topic:
> http://www.notablesoftware.com/evote.html
> 
> Also, there have been a number of threads about this recently on the
> Usenet newsgroup triangle.general which you may find interesting.  
> 
> --Jeremy
> 
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