Fall2008/Open Source Voting Machines
From OpenSourceSoftwarePractice
Contents |
Quality Control
In the few occasions where such reviews have been performed with voting machine vendors, major security flaws have been encountered.
IEEE Review
IEEE Spectrum published some of the major flaws:
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/sep06/comments/1570
Princeton University Study
Princeton University ran the following study:
http://itpolicy.princeton.edu/voting/
Showing how easy is to hack a voting machine with a virus and spread it to other machines.
Uncertified Software" in voting machines
Software running in Voting Machines is supposed to be Certified.
However:
http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=5021
Decertifying Machines in California
After more than a year of pressure from leaders like Computer Science Prof. David Dill, California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley banned the use of touch-screen voting machines in four counties last Friday and decertified all touch-screen voting systems in the state until security concerns have been resolved.
Dill, who called the state’s use of electronic voting machines “reckless,” founded the Web site
a year ago to lobby for paper records of electronic votes.
http://daily.stanford.org/article/2004/5/7/profHelpsGetVotingMachinesInStateDecertified
Where they are build
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/08/dan-rather-inve.html
Open Source / Free Software Advocacy
Richard Stallman
Richard Stallman has long been advocating for the use of Open Source code in voting machines.
http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/37753.html.com
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
The "Electronic Frontier Foundation" position
- http://www.eff.org/Activism/E-voting/
- http://www.eff.org/Activism/E-voting/zimmermanstatement_congress.pdf
Documentaries
Hacking Democracy HBO Documentary
"I'm not like other Grannies"...
Sections in www.youtube.com
- Part 1 of 9
- Part 2 of 9
- Part 3 of 9
- Part 4 of 9
- Part 5 of 9
- Part 6 of 9
- Part 7 of 9
- Part 8 of 9
- Part 9 of 9
PBS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMAoPiJbKzo
New York State Requirements
Peer-Review
New York State has required to be able to peer-review the software of the voting machines that are scheduled to be used,
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2125&Itemid=113
Quote:
New York State’s COTS Software Escrow Requirements New York State has a statutory requirement that requires that all source code be placed in escrow with the State, including so called “COTS” source code. COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) refers to third party software developed by other companies used in the voting machines. One example of COTS software is the operating system, Microsoft Windows XP, used by the Sequoia and Avante DREs currently being tested. Machine vendors and CIBER want to interpret the State’s regulations in the loosest fashion, claiming that they cannot and should not provide source code for COTS software. But exemptions for COTS software must not be compromised away, especially not in ways that decrease transparency and security."
If the State Board of Elections stands fast on the statutory COTS requirement, it is likely that at least two DRE systems currently undergoing testing will not be certified. But there is danger the Board may negotiate a compromise, using a loose interpretation of the statute which weakens security and transparency protections."
NY State deadline for implementing electronic voting
http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=6026
NY State have not been able to find an agreement with the manufacturers
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2513&Itemid=113
