NIST and Voting Machines
(Posted by adam)
Ed Felten points out that "NIST Recommends Decertifying Paperless Voting Machines:"
In an important development in e-voting policy, NIST has issued a report recommending that the next-generation federal voting-machine standards be written to prevent (re-)certification of today’s paperless e-voting systems. ... The new report is notable for its direct tone and unequivocal recommendation against unverifiable paperless voting systems, and for being a recommendation of NIST itself and not just of the report’s individual authors.Photo: suffragettes, of course. At anther turning point....
Years from now, when we look back on the recent DRE fad with what-were-we-thinking hindsight, we’ll see this NIST report as a turning point.
Bookmark this post: Posted by adam on December 4, 2006 at 12:16 PM
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NIST now says it's just a draft for discussion, and has yanked the "NIST recommends" language.
Break out the popcorn, this could be exciting.
Posted by: Chris | December 4, 2006 12:23 PM
And...the TGDC rejected it. Turns out auditability is "not necessary".
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=standards_legal_issues&articleId=9005632&taxonomyId=146
Posted by: Kat | December 4, 2006 11:13 PM
It'd be nice to see a document come from NIST that actually improves the Information Security of the Federal Government. I've been working with NIST documents as part of implementing FISMA regulations and I can't honestly say that any of the recommendations have done a lick of good for my users.
Granted, our wild west research science atmosphere doesn't gel with the standard office space montage, (thank god) but even if my users lived in cubicles, they'd be dying with the regulations NIST has recommended.
I doubt anything useful will come of this. There's a significant financial investment in the current electronic voting systems. I'm sure those companies will be dropping their own "independant white papers" in the very near future. Wouldn't even surprise me to see this NIST document buried or removed.
Posted by: Brad Lhotsky | December 4, 2006 11:16 PM
@Kat:
But wait....they changed their mind:
http://news.com.com/Panel+changes+course%2C+approves+e-voting+checks/2100-1028_3-6140956.html
Posted by: Chris | December 7, 2006 4:25 PM