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Ask HN: Why Isn't Open Source Voting Software Mandated?

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Ask HN: Why Isn't Open Source Voting Software Mandated?

#1

Post by _wldu »

Why doesn't the United States (and other democracies) require open source voting software for all elections? Software that can be externally verified and validated and that could reproduce the results of an election (given the voting data set). Why are citizens expected to trust private companies and closed source software to elect officials? All software has bugs. This fact is not disputed. Citizens should have access to inspect the software used during national and state elections. This should be a basic democratic right. Why don't we do this? Why don't people demand it?

Re: Ask HN: Why Isn't Open Source Voting Software Mandated?

#3

Post by ssivark »

LatteLazy wrote: post #2

There really isn't a good case to be made for electronic voting at all. Paper is much simpler, more reliable and has none of these issues.

One could easily envision an electronic system backed with paper printouts. The electronic system provides immediacy and avoids human counting errors, while any large scale manipulation of the electronic system can be verified by counting the paper ballots.

Re: Ask HN: Why Isn't Open Source Voting Software Mandated?

#5

Post by ultimoo »

LatteLazy wrote: post #2

There really isn't a good case to be made for electronic voting at all. Paper is much simpler, more reliable and has none of these issues.

OP seems to be referring to the existing (proprietary) software that is used to count paper ballots -- not software to make the entire election process electronic.

Re: Ask HN: Why Isn't Open Source Voting Software Mandated?

#6

Post by sebmellen »

LatteLazy wrote: post #2

There really isn't a good case to be made for electronic voting at all. Paper is much simpler, more reliable and has none of these issues.

I think OP is referring to the voting machines that count the ballots. Such as Dominion software, which Trump is causing a big ruckus about.

We're basically doing some degree of electronic voting with the machines that count the paper ballots anyway. And with the introduction of large-scale mail-in ballots, the argument against electronic voting is starting to fall apart.

Re: Ask HN: Why Isn't Open Source Voting Software Mandated?

#7

Post by koenigdavidmj »

LatteLazy wrote: post #2

There really isn't a good case to be made for electronic voting at all. Paper is much simpler, more reliable and has none of these issues.

Parent could be talking about the scanning and tabulation. In theory, there shouldn’t be anything problematic with “you vote on paper, and then slide it through a scanner, from whence it goes into a sealed bin”. Then you can still hand-recount.

Re: Ask HN: Why Isn't Open Source Voting Software Mandated?

#8

Post by ssivark »

I think a practical means to achieving this would be to self-organize and create the hardware+software design and a proof concept for this. That makes it much easier for those concerned to stress-test it, and then point to benefits, since there is now a tangible realization of the idea. That should completely change the dynamics of the political process needed to get adoption. An easy path would be to get it approved for trials in smaller-scale local elections, and then slowly scale its usage over a decade or so.

PS: One could easily envision an electronic system backed with paper printouts. The electronic system provides immediacy and avoids human counting errors, while any large scale manipulation of the electronic system can be verified by counting the paper ballots.

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