[CAVO] Please give opinions and clarifying information on these responses

Mon Aug 31 13:15:23 UTC 2015

Question, is there currently any open source GPL v.3 voting software 
available? I was told that when we release Prime III in September, it 
will be the first. I'm trying to confirm that true.

Thanks,

On 8/29/15 3:32 PM, Juan E. Gilbert wrote:
> Patrick, Prime III will be released, probably on GitHub, in September, 
> see http://www.knightfoundation.org/grants/201551186/
>
> We received a grant to release it. New Hampshire is using it Statewide 
> in 2016. So, it will be there. I'm working on the finishing touches to 
> release it.
>
> All of your other comments, make sense to me. I don't know Alan 
> Dechert either, but I agree, he's someone we should know. The work he 
> describes, we have done with Prime III as well.
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> On 8/29/15 1:52 PM, Patrick Masson wrote:
>> All,
>>
>> Here are some comments based on my initial review. I am particularly 
>> concerned with item eleven, OSET's response.
>>
>> 1. Clear Ballot (clearballot.com) is not distributed with an OSI 
>> Approved Open Source License.
>> <http://sfgov2.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/elections/rfi/20150811_RCVBallotDesign.pdf> 
>>
>> 2. International Voting Machines response states: "We are negotiable 
>> on certification and public review of software; not open source"
>> <http://sfgov2.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/elections/rfi/20150818_IVM.pdf>
>> 3. No documentation of open source claims (GPL3) for Prime III. 
>> Claims of open source license without access to code is meaningless.
>> <http://sfgov2.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/elections/rfi/20150826_PrimeIII.pdf>
>> 4. Statements like, "Designed so that all or part of the system’s 
>> software operates using open source software." and "Everyone Counts 
>> is based on open-source software while maintaining the security of a 
>> locked down system." are antithetical. Upon review, it could not be 
>> determined if the "eLect" software is actually distributed with an 
>> OSI Approved Open Source License.
>> <http://sfgov2.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/elections/rfi/20150827_EC.pdf>
>> 5, The only information provided in response to "Designed so that all 
>> or part of the system’s software operates using open source 
>> software." is "The database used by the Electionware election 
>> definition system is PostgreSQL, a scalable open source database." 
>> Obviously this does not apply to the actual election software.
>> <http://sfgov2.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/elections/rfi/20150828_ES&S.pdf>
>> 6. I do not know who Alan Dechert is but he sounds like someone CAVO 
>> should reach out to. He seems very committed.
>> <http://sfgov2.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/elections/rfi/20150828_Dechert.pdf>
>> 7. Digital Foundry's response seems to be a proposal to build a 
>> system. While they seem positively inclined toward open source, they 
>> do not state specifically that the work developed would be assigned 
>> an OSI Approved Open Source License.
>> <http://sfgov2.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/elections/rfi/20150828_DigitalFoundryResponse.pdf>
>> 8. In response to the RFI's statement, "Designed so that all or part 
>> of the system’s software operates using open source software." 
>> HartInterCivic states, "Yes. Verity is designed to use open source 
>> software." Using open source software (e.g. Linux OS, noSQL DB, etc.) 
>> is not the same as the elections/voting software being released with 
>> an OSI Approved Open Source License.
>> <http://sfgov2.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/elections/rfi/20150828_Hart.pdf>
>> 9. In response to the RFI's statement, "Designed so that all or part 
>> of the system’s software operates using open source software," 
>> Dominion Voting states, "Dominion’s Democracy Suite is designed so 
>> that parts of the system’s software operates using open source 
>> software, such as the use of Linux for the development of ImageCast 
>> optical scan tabulators. In addition, due to the fa ct that many COTS 
>> components form part of the voting system, additional system 
>> components operate on open source software, such as the Android 
>> platform used in conjunction with the ImageCast X voting terminal." 
>> Using open source software (e.g. Linux OS, Android, etc.) is not the 
>> same as the elections/voting software being released with an OSI 
>> Approved Open Source License.
>> <http://sfgov2.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/elections/rfi/20150828_Dominion.pdf>
>> 10. Galois appears to seek a contract to build a system. They make 
>> several claims, "Our products are all Open Source, customers can 
>> purchase fit-for-purpose versions, and we have a variety of support 
>> and service contracts." "We can provide evidence of these claims by 
>> simply referring evaluators to our Open Source product repositories." 
>> Looking at their prior work / GitHub repositories 
>> (<https://github.com/GaloisInc>), they appear to distribute work 
>> under the BSD license.
>> <http://sfgov2.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/elections/rfi/20150828_Galois.pdf>
>> 11. OSET has made two claims, that I am leery of: 1. that they have 
>> submitted the OSET Public License (OPL) or some other to the OSI. I 
>> am not aware of any submission for review, but have asked the OSI 
>> Board to confirm. The statement on page 9 that open source licenses 
>> "may not work for procurement regulations" and elections software 
>> requires "certain terms and conditions," seem dubious.
>> <http://sfgov2.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/elections/rfi/20150828_OSET.pdf>
>> 12. In response to the RFI's statement, "Designed so that all or part 
>> of the system’s software operates using open source software," Clear 
>> Ballot states, "Clear Ballot is built with modern software tools, 
>> allowing the integration of many open source pieces of software in 
>> its voting system. The main programming language is Python and many 
>> of the web utilities come from open source software." Using open 
>> source software in the development of a system (e.g. Python, etc.) is 
>> not the same as the elections/voting software itself being released 
>> with an OSI Approved Open Source License.
>> <http://sfgov2.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/elections/rfi/20150828_ClearBallot.pdf>
>>
>> Hope this helps,
>> Patrick
>>
>>
>> On Fri, 2015-08-28 at 22:56 -0700, Brent Turner wrote:
>>> http://sfgov2.org/index.aspx?page=4892
>>>
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>>
>>
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>
> -- 
> Juan E. Gilbert, Ph.D.
> Andrew Banks Family Preeminence Endowed Professor & Chair
> Computer & Information Science & Engineering Department
> University of Florida
> P.O. Box 116120
> Gainesville, FL 32611
> 352.562.0784 (V)
> 352.392.1220 (F)
> juan at ufl.edu
> Twitter: @DrJuanGilbert
> http://www.juangilbert.com/  

-- 
Juan E. Gilbert, Ph.D.
Andrew Banks Family Preeminence Endowed Professor & Chair
Computer & Information Science & Engineering Department
University of Florida
P.O. Box 116120
Gainesville, FL 32611
352.562.0784 (V)
352.392.1220 (F)
juan at ufl.edu
Twitter: @DrJuanGilbert
http://www.juangilbert.com/

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