Today -- Wednesday, February 8th -- a committee of the California State legislature, chaired by State Senator Debra Bowen, held a hearing to discuss the possibility of using open source software for elections.
Smart idea. For too long there has been inadequate attention to the architecture of election infrastructure. New technologies can be used to make voting easier, faster, more secure and transparent. But proprietary machines and software are not the best answer.
Electronic voting machines should run open source software AND produce paper records of all votes. It's as simple as that.
The case for open source here is compelling. There is no other way for government AND the public to be 100% certain that the software is secure, without flaws enabling abuse, and produces accurate (and verifiable) results. There is no second place here.
And once again, a state in the U.S. is stepping forward to seriously consider mandating open technologies for critical public services. Like voting.
California's State CIO, J. Clark Kelso, has gone beyond that, however. In September 2005, he established an Open Source Working Group composed of IT managers from 10 state departments.
Why?
According to California's 2004 Performance Review, open source is not just about cost savings. “Since the code is open, it offers the flexibility for organizations to modify the code as needed for specific uses. . . Open source can [also] provide superior security than closed source." Words to live by.
There it is. Cost, flexibility and security. The case for open technologies.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
A National Campaign for Open Standards
My last blog entry highlighted a call to arms -- or open technologies -- for governments by Mark Shuttleworth, Ubuntu's founder.
And now, almost on cue, I find a government that has stepped up in a big way. Thailand. The Thai government, led by its National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), has launched a national campaign to promote open standards and open ICT ecosystems.
Thailand is serious about open technologies. They have established an inter-agency Working Group to coordinate its efforts nationally.
As I blogged earlier here, there is similar political movement afoot in Europe at the national level, notably by Denmark and Norway.
And now, almost on cue, I find a government that has stepped up in a big way. Thailand. The Thai government, led by its National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), has launched a national campaign to promote open standards and open ICT ecosystems.
Thailand is serious about open technologies. They have established an inter-agency Working Group to coordinate its efforts nationally.
As I blogged earlier here, there is similar political movement afoot in Europe at the national level, notably by Denmark and Norway.
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