To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software

Re:To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software by hathawsh on Thursday August 03, 2017 @02:28PM (#14922310)

I agree, however, those of us who understand the importance of paper ballots are having a hard time selling it to the public. We're coming across as Luddites. I'm impressed that the New York Times is promoting open source software; it's a small step in the right direction. Perhaps the message we should be spreading is that paper ballots are even more "open source" than any computer software. With paper, poll workers can prevent hacking by simply observing, using physical locks, and communicating with other poll workers. Software (open source or not) only seems to complicate all of that.

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Re:To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software by specialist on Thursday August 03, 2017 @03:30PM (#14922950)

As you know, election administration is more than tabulation. Maps, candidate filings, voter guides, voting records, designing ballots (artwork), poll books, canvasing reports, etc.

I traveled my state advocating open source software. I called it "citizen owned software). It's a slum dunk with voters (tax payers). And it's how things used to be.

The gatekeepers (blockers) are the election admins who outsource to their cronies. They even invent make-work just to have more cheddar for their cronies. Like signature verification and ballot tracking.

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Re:To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software by sapote on Thursday August 03, 2017 @02:57PM (#14922596)

I remember someone saying here that a key shift in framing in Germany was to call them voting computers rather than voting machines (since the broader public understands that computers can be hacked). I think we might adopt that as well.

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Re:To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software by zAy0LfpBZLC8mAC on Thursday August 03, 2017 @03:28PM (#14922940)

I guess it should be pointed out that voting computers have effectively been banned by the constutional court in Germany in 2009, probably in part as a result of that framing.

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Re:To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software by specialist on Thursday August 03, 2017 @03:30PM (#14922961)

That's a great tip. Thank you.

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Re:To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software by pedrocr on Thursday August 03, 2017 @02:47PM (#14922505)

That's why I find the HN discussions on this so important. If the actual technology people can't see it the rest of the population has no chance. The rule of thumb, that almost never fails, is that technology always brings advantages and quickly. Sometimes it even steals their jobs. If we can get a broad agreement on the message that "trust me, I implement new technology all day every day and electronic voting is a solution looking for a problem and if your local politician tries to sell you on it he's most likely trying to steal the vote" we can do quite a bit.

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Re:To Protect Voting, Use Open-Source Software by specialist on Thursday August 03, 2017 @03:37PM (#14923024)

Voters know in their bones that the voting computers are bad. Voters are not the problem.

Returning to paper ballots means less cheddar for cronies. Happily there's a workaround. Postal balloting (close the poll sites)!

Ballots are digitally scanned as they're received at central count. So it has all the downsides of the touchscreens with all new vulnerabilities (undetectable alterations, signature mismatches, preview election counts, voter coercion...). But voters get the comfort of paper and it keeps the cheddar flowing for the cronies.

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