The Advantage of Open Source

Open-source software combined with paper ballots and off-the-shelf hardware offers several advantages for modern election administration:

• Public: The intellectual property benefits the common good.
• Shared: The software can be used in multiple jurisdictions.
• Cheaper: Cost is reduced from development through deployment.
• Transparent: Source code and election data can be published.
• Secure: Vulnerabilities are reduced by exposing code to greater scrutiny.
• Auditable: The paper record preserves the integrity of the system.
• Verifiable: Voting machines can provide evidence of their accuracy.
• Adaptable: Modular open-source systems can adapt to new demands.

Innovative Jurisdictions

San Francisco, California

The San Francisco Elections Commission recently ruled in favor of charting its own course in open-source technology, canceling requests for proposal from proprietary voting system vendors. This was the result of a multi-year research effort into the feasibility, economics, and security implications.
 

Los Angeles County, California

Los Angeles County embarked in 2009 on an ambitious Voting Systems Assessment Project to redesign election technology for one of the largest and most complex electorates in the country. The office of the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk conducted public opinion research, formed advisory and technical committees, and collaborated with design firm IDEO to develop the technical specifications of the system. The project has focused on creating an accessible ballot-marking device that improves the voter experience. Source code will be open to public inspection. The system will use paper ballots and produce data to make transparent, verifiable, post-election audits possible.

Travis County, Texas

Dissatisfied with existing options for replacing its electronic voting machines, the office of the County Clerk in Travis County (Austin, TX) decided to partner with researchers at Rice University, Microsoft, and the University of California, Berkeley to develop a secure, transparent, auditable, and reliable voting system. Called STAR-Vote, the basic system design has been established and is moving through the request for information process. It will feature paper ballots, end-to-end cryptography, and facilitate risk-limiting audits.

Innovative Organizations

Free & Fair

Private technology firm Galois specializes in high-assurance systems for major government agencies and private-sector clients. Its staff includes election technology, cryptography, and computer security experts. Galois launched a benefit corporation called Free & Fair in early 2016 for development of open-source voting systems. Their current product offerings include an ePollbook, a Supervised Voting System, and a Tabulator.
 

Open Source Election Technology Foundation

Open Source Election Technology Foundation and its Trust the Vote Project have been leaders in developing independent, open-source election systems that can be licensed to private or public entities. Building on their success with voter registration services, they are developing other election management technologies.

Democracy Works

New York nonprofit organization Democracy Works builds tools to increase voter access and improve election administration. They specialize in voter information services and absentee ballot tracking.