SF Board of Supervisors Open Source Voting Resolution

Summary of the Resolution

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a landmark resolution directing the city to pursue the development of an open source paper ballot voting system. This resolution represented a significant political commitment to election technology transparency and positioned San Francisco as a national leader in the open source voting movement.

The resolution recognized that proprietary voting systems present challenges for public accountability, noting that the inability of citizens and independent researchers to review the source code of election software undermines confidence in election results. By directing the city to explore open source alternatives, the Board of Supervisors affirmed that election technology should be subject to the same standards of transparency that govern other aspects of the democratic process.

Key provisions of the resolution included directing the Department of Elections to evaluate open source voting system options, allocating resources for research and development, and establishing a process for engaging the technology community in the design and review of any proposed system. The resolution also called for the development of a voting system that would support San Francisco's ranked-choice voting method and meet all federal and state certification requirements.

The Board's action was informed by input from election security experts, civic technologists, voting rights organizations, and concerned citizens who testified about the importance of transparent election infrastructure. The resolution passed with broad support, reflecting a growing bipartisan consensus that voters deserve to know how the software counting their ballots actually works.