Re: Is source code necessary to validate correctness?
In software terms I'd trust a proper suite of test cases more than code reviews
In software terms you can't write them without knowing the code, and you still can't prove from tests it's not open to being subverted. To prove that even on a software level directly you'd have to have the source, use reproducable binaries, prove those reproducable binaries are actually in use and also assume there's no man behind the curtain manipulating data in memory. Throws up all kinds of issues and all of them won't be understood at all by the average returning officer.
A returning officer understands bits of paper in a pile and can check counts by sampling.
Electronic counts are manipulatable by the average 7 year old, there's no checks/balances and I'd never trust one.