Re:Info: See page 20 of report (Re:Open Source?) (Score 1)

[I'm the principlal author of GNU.FREE, the Free Software Internet Voting system referred to above which we ceased development on]

While it is true that a Free Software system would fulfil the commission's requirements and I think would be more likely to be trusted, source availability does not really resolve any of the most challenging problems with e-voting.

Firstly, how do you prove that the source code verified is that being used on every computer involved in the election? Checksums will not do the job on large scales in a way which is trusted by the electorate and candidates.

An e-voting system, source-available or not, still has the challenge of proving that the voter's intention is accurately recorded on the day. Currently the only viable way of proving this is to use a paper trail... thus raising the question of why go to the expense and risk of implementing e-voting.

Given the choice between a Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) voting system and a proprietary one then I'd naturally opt for the FLOSS one... but I'd fight tooth and nail to avoid e-voting altogether first. The risks are too great considering the limited benefits.

More on this at j-dom.org