Security and trust Systems where more people can understand more of the process and get insights into details serve a similar purpose to election observers who help to inspire trust with increased transparency and verification. Additionally, when 90% of the market of election systems in the United States, for example, are run by 'murky' and 'inscrutable' private equity companies, conspiracy theories can flourish alongside serious vulnerabilities. Cities, for example, can have their own staff work on software with the vendors when out in the open, allowing for faster patches and enhancing their
election security. The consensus among the information security community is that a widely used
open-source system should be more secure than a closed one, as more people tend to be willing and able to check for vulnerabilities.
Cost Savings In addition to increased transparency creating more trust and
security,
open-source software can lower costs for elections. A
VotingWorks bid in a Mississippi county, for example, was 50% less than the other vendors using proprietary software, while its machines in 2021 were listed at 1/3 the price of the average machine. Proprietary vendors are not transparent about their costs, estimates found that roughly 2/3 of their revenue came from support, maintenance and services. Private vendors also have sued governments trying to switch to a more reliable process. == Development milestones ==