In the quest for more secure, transparent, and trustworthy voting technology, a nonprofit named VotingWorks is challenging the dominance of industry giants such as Dominion, ES&S, and Hart InterCivic. The backdrop for this challenge is a growing distrust in traditional voting machines, heightened by allegations of election interference and cyber threats.
Side Title: “Open Source vs. Proprietary Systems: The Battle for Trust in America’s Elections”
In a conference room in Concord, New Hampshire, election officials gathered to evaluate the future of their voting technology. The choices presented were stark: stick with the legacy vendors or opt for the unconventional approach offered by VotingWorks. The latter, a nonprofit with only 17 employees, boasts an open-source model, challenging the closed and secretive systems of the industry giants.
New Hampshire, like the rest of the country, faces a critical decision about its voting technology, with many towns seeking alternatives to aging systems like the AccuVote machines from Dominion. The legacy vendors control around 90% of the U.S. voting technology market, prompting a desire for change among election officials. VotingWorks, with its commitment to transparency, simplicity, and security, emerges as a disruptor, despite having contracts in only five small counties.
The open-source approach of VotingWorks allows scrutiny of every line of code on GitHub, offering a stark contrast to the proprietary systems of the established vendors. Proponents of open source argue that transparency leads to increased security, accountability, and public trust. While legacy vendors maintain that disclosing their code to selected entities is sufficient, VotingWorks challenges this notion, pushing for a fundamental shift in how voting technology is developed and implemented.
In the wake of concerns about the vulnerability of voting machines, the movement toward open-source solutions is gaining traction. Ten states currently use VotingWorks’s open-source audit software, and bills advocating for or requiring open-source voting technology have been introduced in multiple states. The battle for the future of voting technology in the U.S. is unfolding, with the success of VotingWorks serving as a litmus test for the broader acceptance of open source in securing the democratic process.”