America’s voting machines are getting old. Many of them are using decade-old technology to tally votes, and replacement parts are becoming hard to come by. But aging voting machines don’t just cause headaches for election officials; they can constitute a security risk as well. Recently, cybersecurity experts have urged state and city governments to invest in new voting machines that are harder for hackers to infiltrate. But just because a voting machine is new doesn’t necessarily mean it will be hack proof. To make these machines as secure as possible, some security analysts have argued that they should employ open source software that can quickly adapt to evolving threats from hackers.
Those who support the idea of using open source voting software claim that it would be safer than elections that rely on a single vendor to mitigate security threats. Open-source software could be quickly patched by volunteers in response to security threats, and offer better transparency at the end of an election.
Currently, there are only a few companies making the voting machines used in major elections. Those companies wield a lot of power, and charge many cities and states millions of dollars every year to lease old, insecure equipment. Open source voting machines could not only be more secure than these proprietary options, but more affordable as well.
At Honest Ballot, we provide our customers with the latest electronic voting machines to keep elections safe, secure and easy. Give us a call today to learn more about how we can help make sure your next election goes off without a hitch.
