The Belgian government "in principle has no objections to sharing its (open source-based) voting computer systems with other public administrations", according to an official at the Ministry of the Interior. Such requests will have to be formally approved by the Ministry.
Requests will have to meet a few conditions, according to the official. The software will only be shared with governmental organisations responsible for organising elections. Prior to the exchange, any necessary arrangements will have to be agreed on.
The software will have to be adapted by other governments. "Our software fits the Belgian federal and local election laws. And so the software will have to be adjusted thoroughly to the legislation of other countries, given the typical election regulations in each country."
Many of Belgium's administrative regions have been using voting computers for years. Voting machines are used by default in the Brussels region and in many of the voting bureaus in the Flemish region.
The most recent generation of voting computers is based on Ubuntu Linux, running an election application that is tailor-made for each election. The voting machines have no hard disk, and just a few bytes of flash memory. The Ubuntu Linux operating system and lists of candidates are loaded using a USB key.
Printer error
Belgian press reported that many voting bureaus experience technical problems during the most recent elections for regional and local administrations, 14 October. Issues included faulty USB keys, problems with printers and broken scanners.
Earlier this week, Belgium's Minister for Internal Affairs, Joëlle Milquet, said she is in favour of using just one system for voting, either by using pencil and paper or by using voting computers. Federal elections are scheduled for 2014 and Milquet hopes that by then the process will be the same in all voting bureaus.
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