EAC - Voluntary Voting System Guidelines

Name : | Andres March
Organization : | none
Post Date : | 7/7/2005
General Comments
Comment : | The only way to make voting software as secure as possible and beyond reproach is to allow public access to the source code. Opening the source to the public is the only way to avoid tampering and ensure a simple and fair voting system. This does not mean by any means that everyone should be able to modify the code but the process should allow for contributions and bug reports from the public. If government expands its use of closed source software, the public will continue to become more disenfranchised. The most common concern that I have heard voiced against opening source code is that it would increase the chance that people will find exploits. This arguement is flawed in two ways. First, exploits being found is the most important reason to open source software. Obviously, it should be released to the public a long time ahead of being used in an election. This time will allow proper review of the code to find potential problems. Second, the most common exploit of a system such as a voting machine will never be the software but instead be of a physical nature. This fact has proven with existing e-voting machines in use today in MD, FL, and CA. However, public input to the software design can mitigate this risk by eliminating some of the causes of these physical exploits.