EAC seeks public comment on guidelines

["Margit Johansson" <margitjo@xxxxxxxxx>]

For Immediate Release
October 31, 2007

Contact:
Jeannie Layson
Bryan Whitener
(202) 566-3100

**
EAC Seeks Public Comment on TGDC's Recommended Voluntary Voting System
Guidelines <
http://www.congressweb.com/t/l/?CCACKRCVBRTXUTS>

**
Online Comment Tool Now Available

**
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has launched the
first of two public comment periods on the draft voluntary voting system
guidelines (VVSG) prepared by EAC's Technical Guidelines Development
Committee (TGDC). The public is now able to submit comments about the draft
guidelines by accessing the comment tool available
here<
http://www.congressweb.com/t/l/?CCACKRCVBREDPDD>.
The public will also be able to view the comments submitted. Comments will
be accepted through the online comment tool or by mailing them to EAC at
1225 New York Avenue NW, Suite 1100, Washington DC, 20005.

"The initial public comment phase is only the first step in EAC's inclusive
and thorough approach as we move toward the adoption of the next iteration
of voluntary voting system guidelines," said EAC Chair Donetta Davidson.
"Throughout the process, public input and involvement will be extremely
important to the EAC, and we will review each and every comment that is
submitted. We strongly encourage everyone to participate in this important
review process."

The draft guidelines were prepared by the TGDC and delivered to EAC in
August and posted on the EAC's Web site. The introduction of the public
comment tool launches the first of four phases leading to the adoption of a
final version.

*Phase I* - The EAC submits the TGDC's draft document to the Federal
Register and launches the *first public comment phase *with an online
comment tool available at www.eac.gov. The public comment period will last
for 120 days and all comments will be made public. Also during this phase
the EAC will hold public meetings with stakeholders to discuss the proposed
guidelines.

*Phase II* - The EAC will collect and review all public comments submitted
on the TGDC draft. After consideration of all public comments, the EAC will
perform an internal review.

*Phase III* - Based upon public comment and internal review of the TGDC
document, the EAC will develop and publish its draft version in the Federal
Register. *The public will have another 120 days to comment on the EAC draft
version*. The EAC will conduct public hearings about its draft version.

*Phase IV* - The EAC will collect and review all comments submitted and make
final modifications. The final version of the VVSG will be adopted by vote
of the Commission at a public meeting and then published in the Federal
Register.

One of EAC's most important mandates under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA)
is the testing, certification, decertification, and recertification of
voting system hardware and software. The VVSG provide a set of
specifications and requirements against which voting systems can be tested
to determine if they provide all the basic functionality, accessibility, and
security capabilities required of voting systems. According to HAVA,
adoption of the VVSG at the state level is voluntary. However, states may
formally adopt the VVSG, making these guidelines mandatory in their
jurisdictions.

The draft guidelines, which were prepared by the TGDC, are a complete
re-write of the 2005 guidelines, intended to address the next generation of
voting systems. These guidelines contain new and expanded material in the
areas of reliability and quality, usability and accessibility, security, and
testing. The draft guidelines require software independence, a concept
created for purposes of the TGDC draft as a high level security requirement
for all voting systems. According to the TGDC draft guidelines, software
independence can be achieved through the use of independent voter verifiable
records (IVVR) or through the innovation class. Additionally, the TGDC draft
recommends open-ended vulnerability testing (OEVT), a testing method
designed to bring greater security to voting systems in the polling place.

*History of Voting System Standards and Guidelines*

The first set of national voting system standards was created in 1990 by the
Federal Election Commission (FEC). In 2002, the FEC updated the standards
(2002 VSS). With the passage of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA),
EAC was assigned the responsibility of updating these standards, which would
be known as the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines. HAVA also instructed the
EAC, along with its Federal advisory committee, the Technical Guidelines
Development Committee
<
http://www.congressweb.com/t/l/?CCACKRCVBRIKBOY>(TGDC), and the
National
Institute of Standards and
Technology<
http://www.congressweb.com/t/l/?CCACKRCVBRPIJDF>(NIST), to
work collaboratively to develop the VVSG.

On December 13, 2005, the EAC adopted the VVSG. Before the adoption of the
VVSG, the EAC conducted a thorough and transparent public comment process.
After conducting an initial review of the draft VVSG, the EAC released the
two-volume proposed guidelines for 90-day public comment period; during this
period, the EAC received more than 6,000 comments. Each comment was reviewed
and considered before the document was finalized and adopted, and all
comments were posted on the EAC Web site. The EAC held public hearings about
the VVSG in New York City, NY; Pasadena, CA; and Denver, CO. The final
version was adopted at the public meeting in December 13, 2005
.

EAC is an independent bipartisan commission created by the HAVA. EAC serves
as a national clearinghouse and resource of information regarding election
administration. It is charged with administering payments to states and
developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting
system guidelines, and accrediting voting system test laboratories and
certifying voting equipment. It is also charged with developing and
maintaining a national mail voter registration form. The four EAC
commissioners are Donetta Davidson, chair; Rosemary Rodriguez, vice chair;
Caroline Hunter; and Gracia Hillman.