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DECEMBER 9-10, 2009Gaithersburg, Maryland

TECHNICAL GUIDELINES DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

Commissioner Donetta Davidson

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• Areas EAC needs TGDC’s guidance on were determined by:

– Public comments.

• EAC conducted a 180-day public comment period.

• EAC received over 2000 comments from a variety of stakeholders.

– 7 Roundtables that included:

• Election Officials.

• Advocacy Community.

• Accessibility Community.

• Academics and Security Community.

• Manufacturers.

• Test Labs.

TGDC VVSG 2.0 Taskings for 2010

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– Congressional mandates.

– Input from NIST regarding research needs.

– Also, formal Resolutions and Motions from EAC Boards who, under HAVA, are required to review the VVSG.

• Board of Advisors.– 32 member board made up of representatives appointed by the State

and local election community, advocacy organizations, Congress, State government organizations and other federal agencies.

• Standards Board.– 110 members made up of State and local election officials from each of

the 50 States and 5 territories.

TGDC VVSG 2.0 Taskings for 2010 (continued)

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• Alternatives to Software Independence (SI) – EAC directs the TGDC to develop draft requirements for audit methods to achieve the goal of Software Independence (SI). The goal is to develop requirements for the auditability of the election system without requiring a specific technology. The starting point for these requirements should be the work already completed by NIST on alternatives to SI.

• Common Data Format requirements – EAC directs the TGDC to research the possible implementation of a common data format for voting systems in order to allow for a more wide-open market solution to voting system concerns and to allow for the possibility of conformance testing of interoperable voting system components. The goal would be the creation and inclusion of basic common data format requirements in VVSG 2.0.

TGDC VVSG 2.0 Taskings for 2010 (continued)

As the Designated Federal Officer I am to advise you of the tasks EAC

requires your assistance in developing.

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• Vote by Phone requirements – EAC directs the TGDC to develop draft requirements for Vote-by-Phone systems. Currently VVSG 2.0 does not have requirements geared to vote by phone specifically and several jurisdictions are using this technology. The starting point for these requirements should be the work already completed by NIST on Vote-by-Phone systems.

• Accessibility and Usability Research update – EAC directs the TGDC to continue ongoing research and requirements updates to the usability performance benchmarks already contained in the draft version of VVSG 2.0.

TGDC VVSG 2.0 Taskings for 2010 (continued)

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• Registration Database and Epollbook Requirements – EAC directs the TGDC to create draft requirements for testing epollbooks and epollbook interfaces to Voter Registration (VR) Databases for possible expansion of the requirements in VVSG 2.0 to include greater epollbook requirements. Many states and jurisdictions have asked the EAC to look into the development of these requirements as all states are required to create a VR database and many are leveraging the technology of epollbooks.

• Ballot on Demand Requirements – EAC directs the TGDC to develop basic requirements for ballot on demand system focusing on accuracy and functionality. Currently VVSG 2.0 has no requirements for BOD systems.

TGDC VVSG 2.0 Taskings for 2010 (continued)

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• Open Ended Vulnerability Testing (OEVT) – EAC directs the TGDC to develop new requirements for OEVT testing to update the requirements already present in VVSG 2.0. This effort should look into the applicability and intersection of OEVT testing and current conformance testing. The focus of this research should be on improving the requirements in VVSG 2.0 to offer more consistent testing across test campaigns.

• Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) Requirements - TGDC is tasked with the development of guidelines for the testing and certification of electronic absentee voting systems. The EAC is tasking the TGDC with this in order to meet the statutory mandates of the 2005 Defense Reauthorization Act which requires the EAC to certify to the Secretary of Defense guidelines to be used to develop an electronic absentee voting system for use by UOCAVA voters. Three laws actually reference developing remote access voting:

• Help America Vote Act (HAVA) • Electronic Voting Demonstration Project• Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE Act)

TGDC VVSG 2.0 Taskings for 2010 (continued)

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• There will be more extensive discussion regarding all of these topics as you move through the Agenda.

• Again, I want to thank you for lending your expertise to the vital work of the TGDC.

• Our goal is to ensure that American citizens can exercise their right to vote, and do so on a secure, accurate, and accessible system.

Conclusion