I'd like to reference Tom Scott's video[0] here. There is no need for an electronic voting system, paper ballots work perfectly.
To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software
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Re: To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software
#12I'd like to reference Tom Scott's video[0] here. There is no need for an electronic voting system, paper ballots work perfectly. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3_0x6oaDmI
Depends on what your need is. If you need to alter votes, it's an extremely good system!
Re: To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software
#13A lot of talk about securing voting machines/verifying that they run the correct software. Why do we have to have physical machines? If it's electronic, surely a website would do if you have the correct means of ID?
NB: this is not an indication of which side I fall on the debate, it is an observation.
[EDIT] Also, I'm aware similar issues exist with a website, but it seems a lot of focus goes on the actual machine.
Re: To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software
#14Someone needs to start a campaign: "Say No To Electronic Voting"
Re: To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software
#15A lot of talk about securing voting machines/verifying that they run the correct software. Why do we have to have physical machines? If it's electronic, surely a website would do if you have the correct means of ID? NB: this is not an indication of which side I fall on the debate, it is an observation. [EDIT] Also, I'm aware similar issues exist with a website, but it seems a lot of focus goes on the actual machine.
In case anyone can't see why this is a whole heap more terrible on top of the terribleness of electronic ballots...
Verifying actual real identity over the internet is impossible. Even if you did webcam-based biometric authentication of identity - these are fooled by a photograph. Going to a polling station and verifying your identity to a human being is much harder to fake, and almost impossible to scale.
The web is an untrustworthy delivery mechanism. What say if a nation state wants to disrupt your election, and starts DDoSing the hell out of it all. Protecting against such attacks at that scale would be extremely difficult.
Also on the topic of state-level disruption, it is well known that orgs such as GCHQ, the NSA etc. hoard zero-days. How do you know your extensively tested system isn't vulnerable to a zero-day that another state has and you don't?
Re: To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software
#16Recent discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14920513
Re: To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can't. Especially at scale (every person validating the software before voting). Paper ballots with a anonymised ledger of votes placed is, in my opinion, the best method.
Paper doesn't scale well, attacks on paper are extremely difficult to scale well, which is why paper is a good system for voting.
It scales "well enough", in that we currently do it, and pay for people to verify the results.
In Australia a lot of this work is done by volunteers from the major parties.
Edit: I agree, its difficult to scale an attack on paper :)
Re: To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software
#18A lot of talk about securing voting machines/verifying that they run the correct software. Why do we have to have physical machines? If it's electronic, surely a website would do if you have the correct means of ID? NB: this is not an indication of which side I fall on the debate, it is an observation. [EDIT] Also, I'm aware similar issues exist with a website, but it seems a lot of focus goes on the actual machine.
Because then you need to secure the computer used to access the website. Good luck with that.
Re: To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software
#19Electronic voting is a bad idea and I'd be suspicious on anyone trying to promote it. How can you know that even if the source code for the voting machine is open, the voting machine is running the exact same source code? How can you know nobody has tampered the code the instance is running? I'm glad my country is still running on paper ballots and glad we require voter ID.
Every time we vote, there is more talk about the burned ballots, unopened chests, uncounted votes and fraud concerning votes being collected from neighboring countries posing as people from my nation.
So yeah. Doesn't really matter whether it's electronic or not.
Re: To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software
#20Electronic voting is a bad idea and I'd be suspicious on anyone trying to promote it. How can you know that even if the source code for the voting machine is open, the voting machine is running the exact same source code? How can you know nobody has tampered the code the instance is running? I'm glad my country is still running on paper ballots and glad we require voter ID.
My country doesn't require voter ID at all, other than confirming a few details and most studies here has shown that requiring ID didn't cut down on fraud.
For me it's important that the barrier to voting is as low as possible, and we don't have a governement issued ID that is free.