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VotingWorks

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Overview

VotingWorks is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that builds open-source, secure election technology systems for U.S. voting. Their platform includes hand-marked paper ballots, ballot-marking devices, tabulators, and built-in audit tools. They emphasize radical transparency by publishing all source code and documentation for public review.

IndustryElection Technology / Civic Technology
Founded2018
HQSan Francisco, CA
Team Size10-50

By the Numbers

100% open-source
Source Code Accessibility
All software published on GitHub for public review
~30 seconds
Software Integrity Verification Time
Self-reported by VotingWorks
2+
U.S. States with Deployments
Including New Hampshire and Mississippi as of 2023

Founders

Ben AdidaFounder & Executive Director

Ben Adida is a cryptographer and software engineer with a PhD from MIT, previously a security engineer at Mozilla and creator of the open-source voting protocol Helios. He has dedicated his career to making election technology more trustworthy and transparent.

He built Helios, one of the first widely used open-source web-based voting systems, years before founding VotingWorks.

Funding

~$10M+ (grants and donations)
Last RoundNonprofit Grant Funding
ValuationNonprofit
Democracy FundHewlett FoundationReid Hoffman (personal donation)Open Philanthropy

Competitors

Dominion Voting Systems

Large commercial vendor with proprietary software and widespread market share; closed-source unlike VotingWorks

ES&S (Election Systems & Software)

The largest U.S. voting machine company by market share; fully proprietary, for-profit

Hart InterCivic

Commercial election technology vendor serving mid-sized jurisdictions; proprietary and for-profit

Clear Ballot

Commercial vendor emphasizing audit tools but still proprietary; targets similar transparency-conscious buyers

Revenue & Model

Pre-revenue / Grant-funded nonprofit
Business ModelNonprofit grant model; charges jurisdictions modest fees for system deployment and support
Headcount~20-40Stable
View pricing →

Hiring Signals

~5open rolesStable
Other
1
Engineering
3
Policy/Outreach
1

Tech Stack

TypeScriptReactNode.jsRustPythonLinuxGitHub (open-source hosting)PostgreSQL

Notable Customers

New Hampshire (primary election pilot)Mississippi (county-level deployments)

Web Presence

Hacker News mentions2

Verified from public records — not AI-estimated.

How They're Doing

Growing

VotingWorks has deployed its systems in real elections in multiple U.S. states including New Hampshire and Mississippi, gaining credibility as a legitimate alternative to commercial vendors. As a nonprofit, it operates on a mission-driven model, providing affordable and auditable systems to jurisdictions looking for transparent alternatives. The organization remains small but has demonstrated technical viability in live election environments.

Successfully deployed tabulation systems in New Hampshire primary elections

Published fully open-source codebase on GitHub for public security review

Gained attention from election integrity advocates and academic researchers

Prognosis

Bullish

VotingWorks is well-positioned to capitalize on growing demand for election technology transparency following years of public distrust in voting systems. Adoption will likely remain slow due to the conservative procurement culture of local election officials, but a few high-profile successful deployments could accelerate interest. Long-term success depends on sustaining nonprofit funding and navigating complex state certification processes.

Opportunities

Growing bipartisan demand for transparent, auditable election technology post-2020

Federal and state funding for election security improvements (e.g., HAVA funds)

Expansion into more counties and states as certification approvals accumulate

Risks

Complex and expensive state-by-state voting system certification requirements

Entrenched commercial incumbents with long-standing relationships with election officials

Dependence on philanthropic funding which can be unpredictable

Political targeting and misinformation campaigns against any election technology vendor

Recent News

2023-03

VotingWorks systems used in New Hampshire elections, drawing national attention to open-source voting

Various election integrity press

2022-11

VotingWorks completes pilot deployments ahead of midterm elections in select jurisdictions

VotingWorks blog

2022-06

VotingWorks receives additional philanthropic funding to expand certification efforts

VotingWorks

Fun Facts

  • 01VotingWorks is one of the only U.S. voting system vendors that lets any member of the public verify the software running on the machines in about 30 seconds.
  • 02The founder Ben Adida built Helios, an internet voting system used by organizations like IACR, before pivoting to paper-based systems after concluding internet voting was too risky.
  • 03The entire codebase is publicly viewable on GitHub, making it a radical outlier in the typically secretive election technology industry.

Timeline

2023

Systems used in New Hampshire elections, gaining national media coverage

2022

Achieved certification and completed first real-election deployments in Mississippi counties

2021

Began state certification process in multiple states for VxSuite election management system

2020

Secured initial philanthropic funding from Democracy Fund and other election integrity donors

2019

First prototype systems developed and shared publicly on GitHub

2018

VotingWorks founded by Ben Adida as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on open-source election technology