That’s easy – look at the voting system’s certification documents -- the Certificate of Conformance and the Scope of Certification. They contain the EXACT specifications for the voting system that was certified by EAC, including the official name of the system and the testing standard. Categories and examples of specifications covered:

• System component (scanner, ballot marking device)
• Software (COTS, voting counting logic)
• Hardware (COTS, monitors, scanners, printers)
• Operating system (Windows, Linux, Unix)

The Scope includes the voting system limitations, such as the maximum number of contests or ballot styles the system can handle. Also included is a list of items that are unique to the voting system, such as whether it can print precinct level reports. There’s a functionality checklist and a chronicle of any engineering change orders that were included with the voting system. Graphic depictions of the system are also available. The Certificate of Conformance and the Scope of Certification for every EAC certified voting system is available here.

Look for the EAC certification seal!

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EAC hosts the national clearinghouse on elections, including voting system reports and data from state and local governments. Voters, election officials and EAC’s test labs rely on this information. Access to these reports and data is critical for EAC’s test labs, allowing them to focus testing on specific areas and address known problems voters and election officials experienced in the field. It also helps detect and prevent problems with voting systems being tested, all of which reduces the time and cost of certifying, fielding, and monitoring voting equipment. Sharing this knowledge and experience also informs other jurisdictions with similar voting equipment of problems and potential workarounds.

It’s been a while since we’ve gotten new reports! So please, any local, state or federal government official who has information about their experience operating a voting system, share it with us and the entire community! We would appreciate it, and so would election officials throughout the nation. Just send the report and a request that we post it in the clearinghouse to HAVAinfo@eac.gov. We’ll take care of the rest. 
 

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