Skip to main content

Election Technology

The EAC's Testing and Certification program is the critical first step in the process of maintaining the reliability and security of the voting systems used in our nation's elections.

Election Technology

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s (EAC) Testing and Certification Program assists state and local election officials by providing voting machine testing and certification. This program is a requirement of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002, legislation that created the EAC and mandated that the Commission provide certification, decertification, and recertification of voting systems, as well as the accreditation of voting system testing laboratories. This legislation marked the first time the federal government provided oversight for these activities, a step that allowed states to procure new certified voting systems without the added expense of independent testing and certification. While states are not required to participate in the program, some have enacted laws or have regulations that require a level of participation.

Prior to the passage of HAVA, voting systems were assessed and qualified by the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED), a nonpartisan association consisting of state level election directors nationwide. These voting systems were tested against the 1990 and 2002 voting system standards developed by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). With HAVA's enactment, the responsibility for developing voting system standards was transferred from the FEC to the EAC and their new iterations are now the EAC Voluntary Voting System Guidelines.

EAC Testing & Certification Program (Full PDF Version) 

Featured Materials

  • Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG)

    Set of specifications and requirements against which voting systems can be tested to determine if they meet required standards.

  • Manuals and Forms

    Policies and procedures that establish guidelines and protocols for the testing and certification program.

  • Quality Monitoring Program

    The EAC’s Quality Monitoring Program provides an additional layer of quality control by allowing the EAC to perform manufacturing site audits, carry out fielded system reviews, and gather information on voting system anomalies from election officials.

Election Technology Topics

Image
Secure Elections icon

An EAC operated program that tests and certifies hardware and software, and may also decertify those systems. This program...

Image
Voting System Certification Process icon

A list of laboratories that have been accredited by the EAC to perform compliance testing on voting systems for federal...

Image
Voting System Certification Process icon

A list of active manufacturers that are eligible to submit voting systems for federal testing and certification. 

Image
Election Audits Across the U.S. icon

Voting systems that are actively undergoing testing for federal certification by the EAC. 

Image
Election Audits Across the U.S. icon

List of voting systems that have successfully undergone the federal certification process by the EAC. 

Image
Poll Watchers icon

A change to a certified voting system’s hardware, software, technical data package, or data, the nature of which does not...

Image
Chain of Custody icon

A means in which the EAC serves to provide a definitive interpretation of VVSG requirements, clarifying what a given standard...

Image
Election Audits Across the U.S. icon

A notice that provides further guidance and explanation on the requirements and procedures of the EAC's Voting System Testing...

Image
Poll Watchers icon

An EAC-approved protocol that establishes a public process to solicit, evaluate, and approve cryptographic E2E verifiable...

Image
National Voter Registration Form icon

The Election Supporting Technology Evaluation Program (ESTEP) was created to evaluate the security and accessibility of...

Additional Election Technology Topics

Image
Chain of Custody icon

Voting systems that have had its certification withdrawn or revoked. 

Image
Chain of Custody icon

Voting systems that have been permanently ended or halted. This is due to the testing process not progressing within 30 days...

Image
Chain of Custody icon

State or local government submitted reports to the EAC, in which the report reflects the experience operating voting systems...

Image
Voting Equipment FAQs icon

The EAC has developed resources to support election officials in communicating about the continued security and certification...

Image
Chain of Custody icon

A series of guides and sharing State User Acceptance and Logic & Accuracy test procedures to help Election Officials, of...