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> I think any software that has the potential to influence election outcomes should be provably correct (the whole stack), open source and probably have been ou
by vetler 12y ago
> I think any software that has the potential to influence election outcomes should be provably correct (the whole stack), open source and probably have been out in the wild for years before getting used in a real election.
Let's remember that even when paper ballots are used, the counting is done electronically. It's not something people often take time to consider.
When the ballot boxes are emptied, the ballots are scanned with scanners, and the results put into some sort of software to be processed further. This is how it's been done in Norway for many years, and we're only 5 million people here, so I can't imagine other countries doing it any differently.
Norway introduced a new voting system a few years ago, which also included Internet voting, but that has later been put on hold, as it was blocked by political reasons. The entire system was open source (you could read the code, but not allowed to use it), but I don't think it has been released since then, and I'm not sure what the plans were. Fun fact, the settlement algorithm that ranks the candidates is a Postgres stored procedure (http://goo.gl/PPMipF http://goo.gl/PPMipF).
There is already a lot of places where there is software that can influence election outcomes, and it's definitely not proved to be correct. Given how trojans have been found everywhere in the recent years, I'd not be surprised if some countries election software stack has been compromised.
- eCa 12y ago> I can't imagine other countries doing it any differently. Just over the border all votes are counted by hand (several times).
- thret 12y agoIn Australia they are also counted by hand.
- vetler 12y agoLooks like they're scanned: http://www.elections.act.gov.au/elections_and_voting/scanning_of_ballot_papers http://www.elections.act.gov.au/elections_and_voting/scannin...
- vetler 12y agoI was mistaken. ACT is only a territory(?), but steps are being taken towards scanning paper ballots: http://www.governmentnews.com.au/2015/02/electronic-vote-counting-one-step-closer/ http://www.governmentnews.com.au/2015/02/electronic-vote-cou...
- thret 12y agoMy mother runs one of the voting stations in her area, I was simply repeating what she has told me.
- vetler 12y agoSweden? Are you sure? Here's an article that talks about how ballots are scanned: http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/valet2010/article12525494.ab http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/valet2010/article12525494.... Also: "– Här skannar vi valsedlar. Tekniken går framåt, tidigare har vi suttit och räknat manuellt för hand. Nu finns teknik för att läsa valsedlar och då gör vi det, säger Anita Attersand, projektledare och handläggare för valfrågor vid Länsstyrelsen i Stockholm." http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=83&artikel=4034156 http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=83&artik...
- realityking 12y agoI've been an election helper for years (in Germany). We've counted everything by hand - and more than once. I believe scanners are in use in other states, however this is vastly better than fully eelectronic voting as you can still do a hand count when the result is very close or suspicious. In Germany the constitutional court has set the bar for electronic voting so hight, that it's virtually impossible. Source: http://history.edri.org/edri-gram/number7.5/no-evoting-germany http://history.edri.org/edri-gram/number7.5/no-evoting-germa...