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Public Inspection

Hi, John.

You said:

It would be an easy matter to modify the software to secretly record how each person voted; even easier if the source code is not subject to public inspection.

There would be inspection. It just wouldn't be open inspection. There could be government audits to make sure that the software is doing what it's designed to do. To use the ICBM example again: Just because the design/logistics of the missiles is secret, doesn't mean that they're never inspected. What's needed is a line-by-line government analysis of the software. (This is why it wouldn't be commercially-developed. Proprietary, copyrighted code could never be used for such a purpose.) Then that analysis is kept absolutely secret. Again, this would lead to a system no worse off than what we have now, in terms of fraud.


And don't forget the reality check factor: If a candidate is at 17% the day before an election, it's not going to be credible to make him the winner.

In an anonymous voting system like ours, it will never, ever, under any conditions, be possible to completely eliminate the possibility of fraud, because the only way to do that is to keep records of who voted for whom. Having said that, it's possible to devise a system that does a great deal better than our current one, and produces a higher participation rate than our current ~ 20%.

Posted by: bhartman36   Posted on: 10/10/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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