San Francisco Board advances open source voting pilot with VotingWorks collaboration

The San Francisco County government meeting on July 4, 2025, focused on significant advancements in open source voting systems, with a pilot project set to launch in November. Board President Walton and Committee Member Mandelmann spearheaded the initiative, which aims to utilize a complete open source voting system developed by the San Francisco-based nonprofit VotingWorks. This system is the first of its kind to be used in U.S. elections, offering a cost-effective alternative to developing a proprietary system.

Chris Jerdanek, a long-serving member of the Elections Commission, highlighted the commission's ongoing efforts toward adopting open source voting since 2015. He noted that previous attempts to create a city-specific system were halted due to budget cuts during the pandemic. However, the successful development of the VotingWorks system has reignited interest in implementing a pilot program, which will initially focus on accessible ballot marking devices at City Hall.

Public comments during the meeting underscored the importance of transparency and security in voting. Carla Kinkaj Yoshikawa, a resident and volunteer with the California Clean Money Campaign, emphasized the need to rebuild public trust in electoral processes through secure and transparent systems.

The committee unanimously supported the pilot project, which is seen as a crucial step toward modernizing San Francisco's voting infrastructure. The motion to advance the project was passed without objection, marking a significant milestone in the city's electoral reform efforts. The meeting also touched on other topics, including ongoing discussions about potential conflicts of interest involving Board of Appeals member Daryl Honda, although these were secondary to the main focus on voting reform.