Can the Government Please Hire Tony Fadell to Build Voting Machines?
November 5th, 2008 by Jeremy ToemanWho’s Tony Fadell? The guy who built the iPod.
What’s wrong with voting machines (just in case you really needed to ask)? Everything.
So let’s think about the criteria of a good voting machine, and put it in context to an iPod…
- Voting Machines must be secure. The iPod is a very secure device, it even satisfies the criteria to make the content industry (including the RIAA) happy. If those draconian organizations can sign-off on the device, I believe it’s safe to say Tony and crew can make a safe & secure voting machine.
- Voting Machines must be reliable. The current generation of iPods are able to play music, videos, and games, and are extensible to an external developer community. Granted there are third-party applications which can cause some issues on an iPod (touch/phone), but we are dealing with an extreme case. Considering there won’t be any plug-ins or apps for a voting machine, it seems like Tony knows how to build a reliable enough device to work perfectly for a single day of the year!
- Voting Machines must be easy to use. There are roughly 3 use-cases for a voting machine: (1) choose one of several options; (2) choose multiple of several options; (3) choose options in a ranked/cascading order. There are a few other minor features, such as entering personal/private data, confirming selection, etc. I think it’s pretty safe to say that an iPod (especially when you include iTunes) has many more features, many more complex features, and is a fairly easy to use device.
Per the link above, Tony Fadell left Apple to spend more family time, which I totally respect. With 2 years until the next election, and 4 years until the next presidential election, it seems like we have a pretty good runway to build something much better than our current system. Also, I have to assume that the US Government would probably be a lot less demanding than Mr Jobs, which should give Tony plenty of time with the kids!
November 5th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Actually, I’m not sure how secure it is. You can replace the OS and/or run Doom on it. You can also strip (at least some) FairPlay AAC restrictions/data. And the voting machines I’ve used were pretty intuitive. The bigger question for me is, just because we can do something better with a touchable computer display, should we? I have more faith in my paper and pencil scantron provisional ballot than a higher tech solution. It’s reliable, cheaper for the taxpayers, and understood by pretty much everyone.
November 5th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
What’s the difference between a vote spoilt because of a software problem, and a vote lost because lousy production engineering causes overheating?
If you want reliable and secure voting machines, buy the ones India used successfully a couple of years ago in an election more than four times the size of yours.