[ILUG] E-voting in India

[Bryan O'Donoghue]

Brian Scanlan wrote:
> On Wed,  5 May 2004 in lists.ilug you wrote:
> 
>>Different criteria.
> 
> 
> When you fly, you trust the code in the aeroplane's computers. You can also
> verify that it has done the required job, because you haven't been killed. You
> cannot verify that your vote was counted by reading source code - whether it's
> been MD5ed, burnt onto USB keys, whatever - you can only be sure of this if you
> have got a VVAT.

Yes, paper based VVAT is a requirement.

I think where I'd go here is that not being able to view the source code, means 
that there is a possibility that a function like.

reatally_results(char*political_party,int exponential_increase);

Exists.

While citizen's may place their confidence in the mechanisms of government, 
that confidence is substanciated by the checks and constraints of 
accountability, which is counter intutiative to having a closed amorphous blob 
of binary code running the couting system in this democracy, without a whisp of 
voter verification bar, a paper based trail.

For the paper based trail to be fool proof, you'd have to verify *every* vote, 
by paper, else, the possibilty for a backdoor having been used in a system to 
influence a vote is real.

>>I think the base case stands, ie, unless dissemination of information would be 
>>harmful to the State and by extension it's citizens, information *cannot* be 
>>kept private, if a citizen requests to see it.
> 
> 
> It can, and is being kept private.

That's a bit of an unsubstanciated Statement. How exactly could citizen(x) 
verifying viewing the source code, be anything but, benefical to the voting 
process?

>>Why don't we just *trust* that nothing untoward is happening in the normal 
>>electoral process?
> 
> 
> As a list member and authoritive person on the matter said:
> "We didn't trust the government before - Why should we now?"


Therefore, since we don't just trust, scrutiny of the internals is absolutely 
essential.


-- 
Bryan O'Donoghue
Embedded Software Engineer

Europlex Technologies Ltd
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Ireland

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