VotingWorks

Last updated
VotingWorks
Formation2018
TypeNonprofit
HeadquartersN/A (Virtual)
Executive Director
Ben Adida
Website https://voting.works

VotingWorks is a nonprofit organization that creates and sells open-source voting systems in the U.S. They currently have three products: one for casting and counting ballots, [1] another, named Arlo, for risk-limiting audits (RLAs), [2] and a third for accessible at-home voting.

Contents

Organization

VotingWorks is a 501(c)3 founded in 2018. At the time, the next youngest election systems provider in the United States was 13 years older, with the second youngest being 40 years older. [3] Ben Adida, who helped found the organization, holds a PhD from MIT in cryptography with a focus on elections and had previously worked as the Director of Engineering at Mozilla and Square. [3] VotingWorks had a staff of 15 as of 2021. [3]

Adoption

In 2019, VotingWorks piloted its election systems for vote counting in the primary and general elections in Choctaw County, Mississippi, thanks in part to a favorable regulatory environment. [4] Since then, other counties in Mississippi have signed-on and the state of New Hampshire has conducted a pilot, [1] with other counties such as San Francisco looking to work with VotingWorks. [5] New Hampshire's audit of its pilot found the software to be accurate, but the state has requested some hardware improvements. [6] [7]

Risk-limiting audits have also been performed using VotingWorks' other product, Arlo, in a few states including in Georgia. [2]

VotingWorks systems in use
Vote Casting+Counting Risk-Limiting Audit Accessible Vote-by-mail
Illinois [8]
Kentucky [8]
Massachusetts [9] [8]
Mississippiᚷ* [10] [4]
New Hampshireᚷ* [1] [9] [8]
Georgia [11] [10] [2]
Michigan [10]
Pennsylvania [10]
Rhode Island [10]
Virginia [10]
Californiaᚷ* [10]
Nevadaᚷ* [10]
New Jerseyᚷ* [10] [8]
North Carolinaᚷ* [10]
Washingtonᚷ* [10]

*select local jurisdictions (vs. statewide use)

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Han, Jeongyoon (November 8, 2022). "3 N.H. towns are testing out new ballot counting machines that use open source software". WBUR . Retrieved 2022-11-25.
  2. 1 2 3 O'Neill, Patrick Howell (December 16, 2020). "The key to future election security starts with a roll of the dice". MIT Technology Review . Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  3. 1 2 3 Wofford, Ben (June 25, 2021). "One Man's Quest to Break Open the Secretive World of American Voting Machines". Politico .
  4. 1 2 Huseman, Jessica (November 12, 2019). "The Way America Votes Is Broken. In One Rural County, a Nonprofit Showed a Way Forward". ProPublica . Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  5. Elder, Jeff (November 14, 2021). "How one company came to control San Francisco's elections". San Francisco Examiner . Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  6. Brooks, David (2023-01-11). "State audit of open-source voting machine gives thumbs-up, mostly". Concord Monitor . Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  7. Han, Jeongyoon (2023-01-16). "NH Ballot Law Commission moves forward with assessing new counting machines". New Hampshire Public Radio. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Voting Equipment Database – VotingWorks VX Accessible Vote-by-Mail". Verified Voting Foundation . Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  9. 1 2 Corpuz, Mina (November 2, 2020). "Technology, advocacy groups help make voting accessible for people with disabilities". SouthCoastTODAY.com - The Standard Times. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "VotingWorks FAQ". www.voting.works. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  11. "Georgia Sec. of State chooses own race for election audit". 11Alive.com. November 10, 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-09.