EAC - Voluntary Voting System Guidelines

Name : | Cem Kaner
Organization : | N/A
Post Date : | 9/30/2005
General Comments
Comment : | It should be possible for researchers to inspect and test the source code of a voting system, but a vendor who wishes to protect its trade secrets should be allowed to release the source code under nondisclosure agreements that balance the vendor's right to protect its inventions and the public's right to know about the compromisability of a crucial tool of our government, the voting machine. Voting system vendors protest that they are entitled to more protection than this. As private businesses, they should be able to choose their customers and freely restrict all aspects of the distribution of their products and of the technology underlying them. I am generally sympathetic to this view. However, the sole purpose of voting system technology is to enable an essential government function. Insecurity or unreliability of the system—and the perception of insecurity or unreliability—undermines that government function in critical ways. Serving the public interest is at the essence of this technology. As the public's representative, EAC has the right and responsibility to demand that we be able to assess our ability to run the honest elections that are part of the foundation of a democratic society.