Electronic Voting Machines and Free Software (Was Re: Sign an Open Letter to the CJI in Support of Prashant Bhushan)
2010/9/28 Satish Babu sb@inapp.com:
This is not about the petition, but I'm wondering if there is a link between Free Software and EVMs.
If I remember right, the original debate was if EVMs could be demonstrated to be tamper-proof.
EVMs are some kind of computers, and consist of hardware and software (in this case, firmware). The question of establishing if an EVM is tamper-proof *can* be resolved if the community has access to the source code of the firmware. After all, if the community has sufficient skills to contribute to the Linux kernel, we surely have the competencies to audit/inspect the source code of the EVM.
As a community, shouldn't we be therefore calling for public scrutiny of the source code of the EVM?
How do you make sure every EVM actually has the binary compiled from the source code you inspected?
How do you know if the storage card is not replaced? There are much more issues than just source code. The biggest concern, is there is no back up, and you cannot verify it independently unlike a paper ballet.
As a community, shouldn't we be therefore calling for public scrutiny of the source code of the EVM?
How do you make sure every EVM actually has the binary compiled from the source code you inspected? --------
If I refuse to agree with the principle that representative democracy is the most ideal form of democracy, then a discussion on EVM is rendered meaningless. If Free Software can evolve, occasionally throw surprises, has the freedom to fork and continues to capture imaginations or aspirations of a large user community, we should rather be asking the question of how to take the *working principles* of Free Software ahead in our attempt to create better principles on existing democratic institutions so that they become more and more democratic. Unlike software, democracy alters power relations between human beings, and hence such democracy always need to keep empowering powerless people, and disempower powerful ones.
CK Raju
Meanwhile, Germany's Federal Constitutional Court has banned electronic Voting Machines and for good reason. The picture of the EVM's carried on the elephant says it all.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wnorrix/308039508/in/photostream/
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/03/03/1325233
- Harish Singh
On Wed, Sep 29, 2010 at 3:15 PM, Praveen A pravi.a@gmail.com wrote:
2010/9/28 Satish Babu sb@inapp.com:
This is not about the petition, but I'm wondering if there is a link between Free Software and EVMs.
If I remember right, the original debate was if EVMs could be demonstrated to be tamper-proof.
EVMs are some kind of computers, and consist of hardware and software (in this case, firmware). The question of establishing if an EVM is tamper-proof *can* be resolved if the community has access to the source code of the firmware. After all, if the community has sufficient skills to contribute to the Linux kernel, we surely have the competencies to audit/inspect the source code of the EVM.
As a community, shouldn't we be therefore calling for public scrutiny of the source code of the EVM?
How do you make sure every EVM actually has the binary compiled from the source code you inspected?
How do you know if the storage card is not replaced? There are much more issues than just source code. The biggest concern, is there is no back up, and you cannot verify it independently unlike a paper ballet.
-- പ്രവീണ് അരിമ്പ്രത്തൊടിയില് You have to keep reminding your government that you don't get your rights from them; you give them permission to rule, only so long as they follow the rules: laws and constitution. _______________________________________________ Fsf-friends mailing list Fsf-friends@mm.gnu.org.in http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends
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ck raju -
Harish Singh -
Praveen A