I’ve written regarding open source and voting technologies in the past.  The cover story of Government Technology magazine this month is about the same topic.

Unlocking the Vote

Today, April 19, was the last day for the established political parties to fill vacancies in nomination when no candidate was nominated in the primary election.   For the first time, no established political party candidate filed to run against me.  New political party candidates and independents can file for office in June so it is no guarantee that I’ll  be unopposed.  Nevertheless, not having an opponent from the opposition parties is gratifying.

I’m sure I could give a host of reasons for the lack of opposition.  But first, foremost, and without peer is the great work of the staff in my office.  Over nearly 13 years they have provided great service, fair and honest elections, and progressive advances in every area of this office.  Every week I have multiple people who approach me and  compliment the work of my office.  The confidence and support of the public in general is reflected in those compliments and hopefully is reflected in the lack of opposition.

Thanks so much to my staff who has served so well and earned such trust.

I’ve certainly had a rocky relationship with the State Board of Elections.   They’ve sued me once (and lost) and now I’m suing them.  Beyond that, there have been plenty of other skirmishes and difficulties.

But I’d be remiss if I didn’t throw a big compliment toward them regarding their campaign disclosure software project.

Readers may recall that I’ve expressed an interest in open source programming for government.   While most open source advocates are particular to using purely open source software applications, I am open to taking advantage of the benefits of open source programming within programs such as SQL Server and Visual Studio.  They key for me is that government holds onto the code and is able to modify that code to meet changing needs.

Now enter the programming department of the State Board of Elections.  This month they are getting ready to release the beta version of their new IDIS software.  Rather than going to another outside vendor to upgrade the IDIS software, the SBE instead developed the program in house.  This will give them the flexibility to more easily make changes in the future as necessitated by new laws or to meet other needs expressed by users.

People who currently use IDIS have often expressed dismay at the product.  Their concerns to date have been unmet because there was no ability for the SBE to change the software that had been developed outside their agency.  That will now change.

Not insignificant is that this has been done for a reduced price.  Nearly a year ago, it was anticipated that the cost in house would be over $350,000.  The new budget that will be presented at the SBE meeting on Wednesday this week has that reduced to $60,000.  I wouldn’t be surprised to this tick up a bit after the bugs in the beta version are identified.  In any case, this cost figures to be reduced from the likely cost from a vendor by a factor of  at least ten.

Most important, the code belongs to the government, can be changed as desired, and will have no licensing costs in the future.  A great example of how software development in house can be a win-win for everyone.