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Seeking The Source For Ireland's E-Voting System
WeeBull writes "Michael Cunningham from p45.net tried to request 'the source code of the electronic voting system first used in Ireland's May 2002 general election, plus any supporting technical documentation supplied to the Department of Environment and Local Government including the functional specifications' under Ireland's Freedom of Information legislation. The result wasn't what he expected ..."
Americans have too been scammed by voting machines owned by corporations. Go figure.
t _G roup_Manipulates/secret_group_manipulates.html
w Me ssage?topicID=7.topic
http://www.americanfreepress.net/11_10_02/Secre
http://www.talion.com/election-machines.html
http://pub103.ezboard.com/fsoldiervoicefrm4.sho
Over in Germany, we use some of the least advanced voting machinery
imagineable. Paper and pencil. Votes are counted by hand, with peer
review, faxed in and published in detail in the newspapers.
So far we didn't have any real problems with fraud, ambiguous votes or
anything like that. And the results are usually in by the evening or the next
day.We have like 70 million inhabitants and I don't see a reason why this
shouldn't scale up.
So is there any real reason to replace that with a system that is not
transparent and where you have to blindly trust some tech companies?
I've just found this document - which appears to be the minutes of an Irish government selection commmittee debating the merits (amongst other things, search for neda) of this system.
Interesting quote: "The integrity of the electoral process will be assured for both the electorate and candidates"
Not all of the electorate it would seem.
Further on in the document
[emphasis mine]
"(2) No equipment may be approved for the purposes of subsection (1) unless a full technical description of the said equipment (including all source code and information regarding independent testing and verification relating thereto) has been laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas and a resolution approving a draft of the order approving the said equipment has been passed by each such House.".
Intesting hey?
Thats just one of the committee's opinion - and it looks like they got slapped down - but if I was Irish, I'd be finding out who this Mr Gilmore was & voting for him.
all sourcecode of the three systems used is available for download and public review on the site of the federal government.
o kunnl/broncodes/Cdoku7nnl.htm
http://www.verkiezingen.fgov.be/Nouveau/NieuwNl/D
(clik on one of the three software systems and then on 'Hier')
The web site and source code for the Australian system referred to in the article is worth a look.
It's quite simple. Intentionally, as the ACT states in their design goals (http://www.elections.act.gov.au/EVACS.html). The source includes the client and server application components--160 files and 12739 lines of very straigtforward C. (Of course, that doesn't include the OS/libs.)
I've browsed through a fair bit of the code, and everything I've seen is GPL. Ensuring accessibility to software used for public elections is, I think, a Very Good Thing. (I wouldn't mind seeing a law that required all election software be GPL'd.)
The sensible thing to do is to use technology to make the existing system more efficient. Ie use scanners and optical recognition to count the ballot papers. Fall back to traditional counting if there is any doubt or if the technology fails.
The Irish Lotto (nation Lottery) is an example of such a paper/electronic hybrid system in operation.
The current system is analogous to having our votes shipped abroad, counted using an unknown system, by persons unknown with no outside review allowed. Having all the votes shredded and then a final answer announced with no possibility for recount.
Its amazing, when it comes to technology people in general are so clueless. Even very fundamental changes in the workings of our democracy can be changed with very little resistence.