How does posting the source to vote counting software help anything? The real issue isn't that people want some source that's capable of counting votes accurately. The problem is that the machines aren't necessarily counting all the votes; having some open source software laying around somewhere doesn't guarantee that the machines themselves are running audited and trusted code. How can anything other than a physical, tamper-resistant audit trail help make vote tallies trustworthy?

Security is always a matter of degrees, just because it doesn't entirely solve the problem doesn't mean it is bad step to take.

I saw Debra Bowen speak at USENIX Security this year and it struck me how completely intimate she was with all associated technology. She understood PKI, various encryption methods and their caveats, open source, operating systems, issues of intellectual properties and her drive to get it right the first time was eye-opening.

The stereotype of politicians being technology-inept and low-bidder-first type people was totally shattered with her. Not only did she truly care about the voting process (and dedicates a huge portion of her time to it), she actually took the time to understand the backing technology and made contacts with mostly everyone who matter in e-voting.

it isn't California where vote accountability will be needed.

Step in the right direction though. If it works in California and is cost effective it'll spread to other states.

Shouldn't have a negative attitude against something just because it's used in a non-ideal environment. I imagine most things wouldn't have been created or invented without the first experimentation steps.

how can this not be cost effective? You could write an open source voting script in 5 minutes. Why does it take them 4 years to approve a 10-20 line piece of code?

People fear what they don't understand. Also, most politicians are of an older generation that doesn't embrace computers as easily as the tech crowd.

I would also think when things are done the same way for so long, it's hard to change - look at how certain people are handling the new facebook layout. Now magnify that to an election system to people who don't easily embrace technology.

They will have to spend money on reeducating the people, testing the system, and a host of other ideas that only politicians can think of.

I'm just playing devil's advocate here. I'm all for it and hope it gets to the East Coast soon.