Voting Technology Standards and Certification
Standards
Until 2002, federal standards for voting system technology, which are voluntary, were developed by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and its Office of Election Administration (OEA) with assistance from the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED). With the passage of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, primary responsibility for voting standards development has shifted to a newly established governmental body, the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Section 221 of HAVA establishes the EAC to:
... assist in the administration of Federal elections and to otherwise provide assistance with the administration of certain Federal election laws and programs, to establish minimum election administration standards for States and units of local government with responsibility for the administration of Federal elections, and for other purposes.
Development of technical standards for voting systems is carried out by the Technology Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC), which reports directly to the Executive Director of the EAC. Technical and administrative support to the TGDC is provided by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). The director of NIST, Arden Bement, serves as chair of the TGDC. Membership of the TGDC includes representatives from the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) and IEEE, which has its own independent voting standards project, Project 1583.
The EAC has yet to issue new voting standards. The most recent federal voting system standards (VSS) were updated by the FEC with the help of NASED on April 30, 2002.
The EAC adopted its first Voluntary Voting Systems Guidelines on December 13, 2005. This the most current document on the establishment of voluntary voting system guidelines.
Certification
HAVA established a new voluntary federal laboratory and voting technology certification process. In January 2007, the Election Assistance Commission released its first Testing and Certification Manual to guide the review of electronic voting systems intended for use in public elections. With the assistance of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) the Election Assistance Commission has also accredited new federally certified laboratories to testing voting systems to the 2002 and 2005 standards.
Prior to HAVA, certification of specific voting systems was generally done at the state level. The National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) designates testing laboratories for this purpose. The Election Center, a nonprofit organization based in Houston, TX, certified the testing laboratories.
NASED's IRS 990s
Election Center's IRS 990s
Election Center Membership Appeal
Election Center Consultant Brochure
NASED's Home Page November 11, 1998 source http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.nased.org
NASED 2002
NASED 2003
ITA Rules
1998
2002
2003
1998-2006 NASED Voting System Certification Testing Laboratories
Wyle, Nichols , Metamor, and Ciber are located in Huntsville Alabama a national high tech hub.
Wyle Laboratories
Wyle Laboratories Description of NASED Cert.. Role
Nichols Research
Political Action Committee
Ciber, Inc.
Ciber and Wyle Joint Venture 7/2007
SysTest Labs Woman Owned Business?
1996 Articles of Organization Filed with the State of Colorado
1998 SysTest Labs
2000 SysTest Labs
July 2000 SysTest Labs
2002 Report Brian Phillips and Katherine Phillips
2003 Katherine Phillips as Agent of the Company
SysTest Self Description
SysTest Letter to EAC 2007
SysTest Press Release on EAC Accreditation
Online Resources:
- HAVA full text (Section 221, p. 1682)
- TGDC Charter
- TGDC Membership
- About the Election Center
- Election Center Board of Directors (MS Word)
- History of NIST
- NIST Responsibilities under HAVA
- Federal Voting System Standards, April 30, 2002
- "The FEC Proposed Voting Systems Standard Update," a detailed comment by Dr. Rebecca Mercuri, submitted to the Federal Election Commission on September 10, 2001 in accordance with Federal Register FEC Notice 2001-9, Vol. 66, No. 132.
- Doug Jones Testimony on Voting Standards Before House Committee on Science, Washington D.C., May 22, 2001
- Frequently Asked Questions About Voting System Standards (FEC)
- History of the Voting System Standards Program (up to 98)
- Standards for Elections: past, present and future, Roy G. Saltman, M.S., M.P.A., presented to: Workshop on Election Standards and Technology Washington, DC - January 31, 2002
- Improving Voting Technologies: the role of standards, Hearing Before the Committee on Science House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventh Congress First Session May 22, 2001
- Voting Systems Performance and Test Standards: An Overview This document is part of Agenda Document Number 01-62 on the agenda for consideration at the December 13, 2001, meeting of the Federal Election Commission.
- 1990 FEC Voting Standards