(Fwd) EAC Adopts 2005 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines

[Neal <neal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Below is the full message.  Here are a few key excerpts.

 The guidelines will take effect in December 2007 (24 months), at
 which time voting systems will no longer be tested against the 2002
 Voting System Standards (VSS) developed by the Federal Election
 Commission (FEC).  However, states may decide to adopt these
 guidelines before the effective date.
                             
 An initial set of guidelines were developed by the HAVA-designated
 Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC), and then delivered
 to the EAC for consideration. EAC made initial changes and posted the
 proposed guidelines for a 90-day comment period, which resulted in
 more than 5,600 comments. During the public comment period, EAC held
 public meetings in New York City, Pasadena and Denver to solicit
 additional input from representatives of the disability community,
 advocacy groups, the general public and technology and voting system
 experts. All comments will be available at [3]www.eac.gov.

 The guidelines will be available in the next few weeks at
 [4]www.eac.gov as well as published in the Federal Register.

Neal McBurnett                 http://bcn.boulder.co.us/~neal/
Signed and/or sealed mail encouraged.  GPG/PGP Keyid: 2C9EBA60


----- Forwarded message from Bryan Whitener <bwhitener@xxxxxxx> -----
From: Bryan Whitener <bwhitener@xxxxxxx>
Subject: EAC Adopts 2005 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines

[1][IMG]           U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION                     
		   1225 New York Ave. NW - Suite 1100                      
		   Washington, DC 20005                                    

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For Immediate Release
December 13, 2005

Contact: Jeannie Layson
(202) 566-3100

[2]EAC Adopts 2005 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines
Increase security requirements, expand access for all voters

WASHINGTON - A major goal of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) was
reached today with the adoption of the 2005 Voluntary Voting System
Guidelines.

The U.S Election Assistance Commission (EAC) unanimously adopted the
voting system guidelines, which significantly increase security
requirements for voting systems and expand access, including opportunities
to vote privately and independently, for individuals with disabilities.

"These guidelines were created to ensure that voting systems will be
accurate, reliable, secure and accessible to all voters," said EAC Chair
Gracia Hillman. "EAC will also certify all voting systems to make certain
that they meet these goals.
"We extend a sincere thank you to the many people who worked with EAC to
develop the guidelines.  And, we extend our appreciation to the thousands
of people who took the time to offer suggestions and comments.  These
comments were insightful and instructive, and many of them were
incorporated into the final product."

The guidelines will take effect in December 2007 (24 months), at which
time voting systems will no longer be tested against the 2002 Voting
System Standards (VSS) developed by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
However, states may decide to adopt these guidelines before the effective
date.

The voluntary guidelines provide a set of specifications and requirements
against which voting systems can be tested to determine if the systems
provide all of the basic functionality, accessibility and security
capabilities required of these systems. In addition, the guidelines
establish evaluation criteria for the national certification of voting
systems.

The guidelines update and augment the 2002 VSS, as required by HAVA to
address advancements in information and computer technologies.

Volume I, Voting System Performance Guidelines, includes new requirements
for accessibility, usability, voting system software distribution, system
setup validation and for wireless communications. It provides an overview
of the requirements for Independent Verification systems, including
requirements for a voter verified paper audit trail for states that
require this feature for their voting systems. Volume I also includes the
requirement that all voting system vendors submit software to the National
Software Reference Library, which will allow local election officials to
make sure the voting system software they purchase is the same software
that was certified.

Volume II, National Certification Testing Guidelines, describes the
components of the national certification testing process for voting
systems, which will be performed by independent voting system test labs
accredited by EAC. EAC is mandated by HAVA to develop a national program
to accredit test laboratories and certify, decertify and recertify voting
systems.

These guidelines are voluntary. States may adopt them entirely, in part or
not at all. States may also choose to enact stricter performance
requirements for voting systems. Currently, at least 39 states require
voting systems to be certified at the national level.

An initial set of guidelines were developed by the HAVA-designated
Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC), and then delivered to
the EAC for consideration. EAC made initial changes and posted the
proposed guidelines for a 90-day comment period, which resulted in more
than 5,600 comments. During the public comment period, EAC held public
meetings in New York City, Pasadena and Denver to solicit additional input
from representatives of the disability community, advocacy groups, the
general public and technology and voting system experts. All comments will
be available at [3]www.eac.gov.

The guidelines will be available in the next few weeks at [4]www.eac.gov
as well as published in the Federal Register.

History of Voting Standards and Guidelines
The 2005 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines represent the third iteration
of standards for voting systems. The first set was developed in 1990 by
the FEC, and were updated in 2002. EAC will continue to assess voting
system technology and will make future iterations to the 2005 guidelines.

History of Voting System Certification
The National Association of State Election Directors (NASED), a
nonpartisan, volunteer organization consisting of election directors,
began testing voting systems against FEC standards in 1994. EAC is in the
process of assuming responsibility for the national certification process,
as mandated by HAVA. Thirty-nine states currently require national
certification.

HAVA Requirements for Voting Systems
Section 301(a) of HAVA sets forth the standards that voting systems must
meet after January 1, 2006. States must meet the requirements of Sec.
301(a) regardless of whether they choose to adopt the 2005 Voluntary
Voting System Guidelines.

The 301(a) requirements state that all voting systems must be able to
perform the following functions: (1) allow the voter to review selections
before casting a ballot; (2) allow the voter to change selections before
casting a final vote; (3) notify the voter when more selections are made
than permitted;  (4) provide for the production of a permanent paper
record suitable to be used in a manual recount; (5) provide voters with
disabilities, the same opportunity for access and participation (including
privacy and independence); (6) provide accessibility in minority languages
for voters with limited English proficiency as required by Section 203 of
the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and (7) provide for an error rate in
operating the voting system that is no greater than the error rate set
forth the 2002 Voting System Standards.

New EAC Officers Elected
After voting to adopt the guidelines, the commissioners unanimously
elected officers for 2006. Paul DeGregorio was elected EAC chairman, and
Ray Martinez III was elected vice chairman. They will begin their one-year
terms January 4, 2006.

EAC is an independent, bipartisan commission created by HAVA. It is
charged with administering payments to states and developing guidance to
meet HAVA requirements, implementing election administration improvements,
adopting voluntary voting system guidelines and developing a national
certification program for voting systems. The commission also serves as a
national clearinghouse and resource of information regarding election
administration.

The four EAC commissioners are Gracia Hillman, chair; Paul DeGregorio,
vice chairman; Ray Martinez III; and Donetta Davidson.

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[5][IMG]

References

Visible links
2. http://www.eac.gov/news_121305.asp
3. http://www.eac.gov/
4. http://www.eac.gov/

----- End forwarded message -----