StrongRoom Elections (validation copy)
A validation build of the proposed StrongRoom election platform interface, used to review screens and workflows with synthetic records.
For: Reviewers evaluating the proposed election platform interface
ERC · Evidence, readiness and custody
Election oversight that shows its evidence
ERC keeps a claim-by-claim record of what has actually been tested in BB2G's election work — and says plainly what has not. It is an evidence programme. It never counts votes.
Where things stand · 24 September 2026
Nothing here is approved for real elections
Status: no election component is operational or approved for use with real people or real data. Every repository reviewed describes itself as synthetic-only or scaffolding, or has open approval gates.
Decisions already on record
- Permanently non-tabulating. ERC Evidence never counts, stores or displays ballot choices.
- Posture shown as “vulnerable”. Every election component displays this until an independent, named cryptographer signs off.
- Biometrics are research only and are never a precondition to vote.
- Identity stays out of ballots. Identity or biometric data never enters ballots, cast-vote records, receipts or audit exports.
Open blockers
- Several codebases each claim to be the canonical election build; one must be chosen before anything else proceeds.
- An independent cryptographer and election-law counsel are required. These are people, and cannot be engineered around.
- Test results claimed in earlier notes have not all been reproduced; the register records the differences rather than hiding them.
Demonstration
Follow a synthetic custody record
The demo seals a synthetic ballot container, records each hand-off, chains every event with a SHA-256 fingerprint, and then lets you alter a record to see the check catch it. It also shows what a fingerprint cannot do: it detects changed bytes, not physical tampering or theft.
Simulated Synthetic containers and counts only. No ballot choices, voter records or identities.
Silent screen recording of the synthetic demo, about a minute long, with captions.
Read the transcript
- 00:00 This is the ERC chain-of-custody demo. The container, people and counts are all synthetic.
- 00:03 First the container is sealed with 250 sheets recorded.
- 00:06 Each hand-off is recorded and fingerprinted with SHA-256, linked to the record before it.
- 00:11 The scanner counts 249 sheets. The difference becomes an exception for a person to review — not an accusation.
- 00:15 A reviewer finds the missing sheet, rescans it, and records why the counts now reconcile.
- 00:19 Verifying the chain: every fingerprint matches and every link is intact.
- 00:22 Now record three is altered to say 245 sheets, without updating its fingerprint.
- 00:25 Verification catches the change and flags the record. A fingerprint detects altered bytes — it cannot detect physical theft.
Interfaces under review
Platform screens, validated with synthetic data
Human verification research
A research plan for voluntary, consented, one-to-one check-in that keeps presence, identity, session integrity and eligibility as four separate decisions — organised as 21 checks and controls.
For: Researchers, accessibility reviewers and security reviewers
Next step: try the custody demo yourself, or read the human-verification research.