Maryland Plans Code Review for Voting Software

asmithmd1 writes "We already knew Diebold software is insecure, now the Baltimore Sun is reporting that the Governor of Maryland has asked SAIC to review the software in Diebold voting machines. Diebold has graciously allowed SAIC access to their proprietary code. Why isn't this code open source by law?" In a related story, a trade show for closed-source electronic voting systems is doing their best to keep critics out. Update: 08/07 15:23 GMT by M : Diebold's website security is less than outstanding.

Comments

Re:because

[garcia]

but how many of "us" will realize the necessity of that? People are SO used to MS as being the only thing out there for computers and not knowing that there is such a thing as "open source" and that "trade secrets" aren't the most important thing when it comes to security.

Who's to say that just because we see the source code that they actually use that code when they compile it?

Who's to say that there isn't some hardware interface to mess with the votes?

The list goes on.

Basically what it comes down to is that the ignorance of the general public (and the fact that only a minority even care enough to vote as it is) is what is going to lead to the downfall of our voting systems.

Bad idea.

[ShadeARG]

Why can't I buy people's votes? If I have a vote that I don't want, and someone wants a vote, they should be allowed to buy mine.

Because that would make the system worse than it already is. The percentage of people that do not vote is astounding, and you can be sure those votes would be sold. It's bad enough that people vote just because they think a certain candidate is a good speaker or they are a member of their political party. If votes could be bought then the political giants with the most cash would win every time. This is exactly how government positions should never be filled.

If you think about it, an election is like a high speed race. The only difference is that the voters are behind the wheel. With that in mind, I'm surprised the system allows uninformed voters to actually cast a vote without knowing about the issues and the politicians.

Before you can drive, you take driver's ed. Every election before vote time, there voter's ed should be a requirement. The issues are constantly changing, as well as the politicians. If this was manditory like a driving test (written or hands on, doesn't matter), then the people would be far better informed. Imagine the difference that could make. Imagine the turnout.