Electronic voting with free software

[Alan Dechert]

"Paul Rubin" <http://phr.cx@NOSPAM.invalid> wrote in message
news:7x1xwknx1v.fsf at ruckus.brouhaha.com...
> "Alan Dechert" <adechert at earthlink.net> writes:
> > Our project incorporates a proposal for Remote Attended Internet Voting
to
> > replace the various existing absentee voting methods employed today.
>
> I wouldn't want to use the public internet that way.  It sounds like
> an invitation to launch DOS attacks against the parts of the network
> where one's political opponents live.  I don't see the need for any
> network connection as long as the election info can be delivered to
> all the polling places before the election starts.  If every election
> can be enrolled in an FEC database a few weeks before election day
> (that means the database has all the info that would get printed on a
> ballot), then the whole database can get dumped to CD-ROM or DVD-ROM
> and shipped to all the polling places in time for the election, no
> internet needed.
>
That's a thought.  It might be feasible to aggregate all the databases from
all the counties for all the contests (although these databases might be
larger than you think -- especially when you have all the audio files in all
the different languages).  However, the main problem I see is the voter
files.  You'd also need all the voter files from all the states and some of
these get updated too close to Election Day.  In other words, with remote
absentee voting -- with no pre-printed roster like you have at the precinct
polling places -- we need to ID the voter and verify registration (including
the precinct in which registered).  HAVA calls for statewide databases and
this should help a lot for cleaning up these files.  Remote poll workers
should be able to access the voter file online to verify registration.

Several studies conducted so far regarding Internet voting have turned
thumbs down on unattended voting but have concluded that attended Internet
voting should be feasible.  It's already pretty much a given that it will be
available for overseas military (perhaps as soon as 2004).

Alan Dechert