Voting Machines’ Software for the Early Parliamentray elections is Ready

The software for the voting machines is now complete, 16 days before the elections. The hash code that appears on every machine ballot has also been generated.

The 64-character code is part of the standard procedure for verifying the machines, ensuring the integrity of the vote. The trusted build of the software has also been completed. This means that, in practice, the responsible institutions confirm that the machines are ready for the snap elections.

The hash code is printed on every machine-generated ballot and on every control receipt from the devices on election day. The combination of numbers and letters is also displayed in polling stations, allowing voters to check it and ensure that the machine software has not been tampered with. The trusted build of the source code was open to public observation.

Kameliya Neykova, Chair of the Central Election Commission (CEC), said: “This is a procedure carried out in a secure environment at the Ministry of e-Governance, ever since machine voting has been used as a means of voting for Bulgarian citizens.”

Georgi Sharlov, Minister of e-Governance: “We are demonstrating what is perhaps the most exciting part for everyone – how we certify that the code loaded and installed on the machine matches the code that has been trusted and built. All information about the machine is displayed – the specific polling station, location, address, everything is described, the constituency, and below is also shown the system hash of the installed software.”

photos by BTA

The installation of all voting machines is yet to be completed. A distinguishing feature of these elections is that all installed devices will be checked. More than 110 state officials are involved in the additional validation of the machines.

The first verified machines will be sent to the most remote locations around the world where Bulgarian citizens will be voting. If a machine fails on election day, paper voting will be used instead, but only after a decision by the district election commissions.