A Stateless Transparent Voting Machine

Transparency and security are essential in our voting system, and voting machines. This paper describes an implementation of a stateless, transparent voting machine (STVM). The STVM is a ballot marking device (BMD) that uses a transparent, interactive printing interface where voters can verify their paper ballots as they fill out the ballot. The transparent interface turns the paper ballot into an interactive interface. In this architecture, stateless describes the machine's boot sequence, where no information is stored or passed forward between reboots. The machine does not have a hard drive. Instead, it boots and runs from read-only media. This STVM design utilizes a Blu-ray Disc ROM (BD-R) to boot the voting software. This system's statelessness and the transparent interactive printing interface make this design the most secure BMD for voting. Unlike other voting methods, this system incorporates high usability, accessibility, and security for all voters. The STVM uses an open-source voting system that has a universally designed interface, making the system accessible for all voters independent of their ability or disability. This system can make voting safer by simultaneously addressing the issue of voters noticing a vote flip and making it difficult for a hack to persist or go unmitigated.