[vox] [Article] A Vote for Open-Source Voting Machines

[Jonathan Stickel]

Your thought is good, but there is one flaw.  If you can check on how 
your vote was counted, hence proving exactly how you voted, you can sell 
your vote!  Take a look at this very interesting article:

http://www.siam.org/siamnews/03-04/e-voting.htm

Jonathan


Mark K. Kim wrote:
> I got some opinion on this topic...
> 
> I don't think open sourcing the code is absolutely necessary.  I don't
> think *any* code will be secure enough, open source or otherwise, because
> there's absolutely no guarantee, even for the open-source code, that the
> published code is what will be used on each machine.  I think the solution
> is to make each individual votes public (but still keeping it anonymous),
> not necessarily (though helpful) the code.
> 
> The voting machine running the voting software, open source or not, can
> make each individual votes public via the Internet, by publishing each
> voter's ballot number and how s/he voted.  No name or any identification
> is published except for the ballot number, which is random, and the
> prescinct in which s/he belongs.  A random sampling of the data can be
> done by volunteers to verify that the results of the published data is
> accurate, and anybody will be able to check whether his/her results were
> published accurately on the Internet.  If an inaccuracy is found by any
> individual, the paper trail will have to be traced (and that can be done
> in a number of ways.)
> 
> This is actually more accurate than the current paper ballots.  For
> example, as far as the current voting process goes I have no idea if my
> vote was ever counted, got lost, manipulated, voided, counted late, or
> whatever.  In the above method, I can verify that my vote was counted,
> when it was counted, how accurately it was processed, etc.  And this can
> be done by anybody who cares enough to check it and knows how to use the
> Internet (or if they don't have Internet, they can just go to some
> government facility like a Library or the City Office and ask someone to
> verify it for them.)  But the actual check of accuracy doesn't depend on
> any of that, as random sampling check of the accuracy of the votes can be
> done even by some kid down the street who has Internet and wants to go
> around the neighborhood asking people how they voted.  It's possible
> someone might lie, but when you produce enough paper trail the result
> should be reflected accurately (ie., you get a paper ticket stub with your
> ballot number, which people already get, but also a checksum number of how
> you voted.)
> 
> The process is very similar to public-key cryptography and digital
> signatures, if you think about it.  It's security through publicity, as
> opposed to security through absecurity.
> 
> If we're using the current process as the standard by which the electronic
> voting is to measure up, I think the above method is good enough.  I don't
> see any other way an electronic voting can become as accurate as the paper
> ballots, except by publicizing how people voted.
> 
> BTW, has anyone ever used their ticket stub to verify that their vote was
> counted correctly?  I think that's the purpose of the ticket stub, isn't
> it?  How am I supposed to verify my vote???  Is there a phone number I can
> call.....????
> 
> -Mark
> 
> 
> On Thu, 4 Nov 2004, Bill Kendrick wrote:
> 
> 
>>A Vote for Open-Source Voting Machines
>>By Philip H. Albert
>>LinuxInsider
>>11/02/04 5:00 AM PT
>>
>>  http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/37753.html
>>
>>    "Open-source programs can be more secure because the code is visible
>>    and it speaks for itself in most cases. Thus, we can rely on the code
>>    and don't have to rely on its author. Tampering with the code is easy
>>    to detect and the nature and biases of the tamperer can be clearly
>>    identified."
>>
>>
>>Enjoy!
>>
>>-bill!
>>bill at newbreedsoftware.com                            New Breed Software
>>http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/               Tux Paint 0.9.14 is out!
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> 
>