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Grand jury finds open-source voting effort stalled by unclear ownership and risk aversion
Summary
The civil grand jury concluded San Francisco’s open-source voting project has lacked a clear project owner, timeline and funding commitment, leaving it 'in a hypothetical exploration' for about a decade; the report urges clarified responsibility and sustained direction if the city moves forward.
Grady Ward, presenting the civil grand jury’s Open Source Voting report, told the committee that despite broad stakeholder interest the project has remained largely hypothetical for roughly a decade. The jury found two dominant obstacles: lack of a clearly defined project owner and widespread risk aversion in the elections ecosystem, which together prevented a coherent funding plan and timeline.
Ward said consultant reports and independent studies had been inconclusive; at root the project requires clear city ownership and realistic scope-setting rather than outsourcing decision-making. The Department of Elections and other stakeholders were present; committee members did not press for immediate action but acknowledged the need for defined project governance and funding planning if the city wishes to pursue an open-source election stack.
The committee filed the report.
