Open Source Code

Open Source generally refers to a computer program where the source code is available to the public. The general public may use, review, or modify the original source code depending on the type of license the company or developer has chosen.

Ideally open source codes promote collaborative efforts on big projects; many programmers improve the on the original source code and then share their improvements with the community.

Why Open Source Code Is Important

Open source code is important because it secures computer programs at the information level. To truly have provably honest elections, open source code is necessary.  A voting system whose code is not open source is simply not end-to-end verifiable, as the parts of the code that are hidden may be compromising voter privacy and overall security. To ensure a computer program is operating as it claims to operate, you must reverse engineer the code and see for yourself that the source code is legitimate. In this way you can validate ballots in an online election and prove that the results are honest.

It is important to note that not everyone can write or read code. Many people often complain that they cannot interpret the source code of a project. This is no reason to be afraid. There will always be skeptics willing to take the time to verify the credentials and source code and blow the whistle if necessary.

Open Source Code At Follow My Vote

At follow My Vote, we are very passionate about keeping our code base open source. We believe that this is fundamental when building a secure and provably honest voting platform. Our system is truly end to end verifiable due to the open source code base.