Ian Clarke wrote:
Well, I know it isn't a popular opinion on this list, but I think that making the e-voting source code public is a distant second to voter verified audit trails and I am concerned that advocating the "nice-to-have" will only reduce our chances of getting the "need-to-have". In effect, we are prioritising the narrow goals of advocating free software over the wider goal of protecting democracy.
My letter doesn't advocate a Free Software solution, it criticizes a non-Free Software solution, while also (twice or more) drawing attention to the problem of knowing that the program you've reviewed is the program being used.
Essentially, I agree with Jason Kitcat, of the free e-democracy project:
"Electronic voting is a bad idea - it's the inappropriate use of technology in the wrong place."
The full quote is here - http://www.evoting.cs.may.ie/opinion.shtml
The ICTE submissions summary lists 9 instances asking for source code. The possibility of an "open source" solution has been raised in an article in the Irish Times (mentioned by Éibhear). The possibility of a "false sense of security" with a compromise solution is certainly high. I thought there would be a place for IFSO to offer a solid critique of the problems of e-voting with private software, in terms of loss of freedom and threat to democracy, without actually explicitly advocating e-voting at all.
Just my 1.57513p
- C.