1-of-M:

N-of-M voting where N = 1.

absentee ballot:

(1) Ballot provided to an absent voter. (2) Ballot resulting from absentee voting.

absentee voting:

Voting that can occur unsupervised at a location chosen by the voter.

accessible voting station:

Voting station equipped for individuals with disabilities referred to in 42 USC 15481 (a)(3)(B).

Acc-VS:

Accessible voting station.

activation device:

Programmed device that creates credentials necessary to initiate a voting session using a specific ballot configuration. Discussion: This covers a range of devices such as electronic pollbooks and card activators that encode a token with credential information necessary to determine the appropriate ballot configuration for the voter (e.g., affiliation or precinct). The credentials on the token are used to call up and display the correct ballot on a DRE or EBP.

active period:

Span of time during which a vote-capture device either is ready to begin a voting session or is in use in a voting session. See Part 1 Section 8.2.

administrator:

Role defined in Part 1 Section 5.4.

affiliation:

Association with a political party. Discussion: Affiliation with a political party does not imply endorsement by that political party. See also, endorsement.

alert time:

The amount of time the equipment will wait for detectible voter activity after issuing an alert before going into an inactive state requiring poll worker intervention.

application logic:

Software, firmware, or hardwired logic from any source that is specific to the voting system, with the exception of border logic.

archival:

(Media) Able to preserve content for a period of time without significant loss. Discussion: In the context of voting, the relevant period of time is usually 22 months. See Part 1 Section 6.5.3.

archivalness:

Ability of a medium to preserve its content for a period of time without significant loss. Discussion: In the context of voting, the relevant period of time is usually 22 months. See Part 1 Section 6.5.3.

ATI:

Audio-tactile interface.

audio VEBD:

VEBD that communicates ballot information to the voter using sound.

audio-tactile interface:

Electronic voter interface that does not require visual reading of a ballot. Discussion: Audio is used to convey information to the voter and sensitive tactile controls allow the voter to convey information to the voting system.

audit device:

Voting device dedicated exclusively to processes of verification and/or independent assessment of the performance of the voting system.

audit:

Verification of statistical or exact agreement of records from different processes or subsystems of a voting system.

Average Voter Confidence:

A metric used in the VPP, but not used to pass or fail systems. Mean confidence level expressed by the voters that the system successfully recorded their votes.

Average Voting Session Time:

Mean time taken per voter to complete the process of activating, filling out, and casting the ballot. Metric used in the VPP, but not used to pass or fail systems.

ballot activation:

Initiation of a voting session on a DRE or EBP such that the voter is presented with a ballot having the ballot configuration specified by the voting credentials.

ballot activator:

Used to activate the ballot for a DRE or EBM. Typically an electronic pollbook or hand-held ballot activation device.

ballot configuration:

Set of contests in which voters of a particular group (e.g., political party and/or election district) are entitled to vote.

ballot image:

Electronically produced record of all votes cast by a single voter. Discussion: A ballot image might be an uninterpreted bitmap image, a transient logical representation of the votes, or an archival record (a cast vote record).

ballot question:

Contest in which the choices are Yes and No.

ballot rotation:

Process of varying the order of the contest choices within a given contest.

ballot style:

Concrete presentation of a particular ballot configuration. Discussion: A given ballot configuration may be realized by multiple ballot styles, which may differ in the language used, the ordering of contests and contest choices, etc.

ballot:

(1) Collection of votes produced by one voter in one voting session (as in “ballot summary” or “rejected ballot record”). (2) Collection of all votes cast by one voter in one voting session (as in “cast ballot”). (3) Cast vote record (as in “evidence that the ballot was available for review by the voter”). (4) Ballot configuration (as in “ballot definition”). (5) Ballot style (as in “ballot design”). (6) Presentation of every contest included in a particular ballot style, possibly with votes (as in “For privacy, the ballot must be visible only to the voter”). (7) Collection of one or more pieces of paper that presents every contest included in a particular ballot style and, when cast, serves as a cast vote record. (8) VEBD function of interacting with a voter to potentially create a ballot (as in “ballot activation”) or mark an existing ballot.

benchmark:

Quantitative point of reference to which the measured performance of a system or device may be compared.

black-box:

Testing technique focusing on testing functional requirements, those requirements being defined in an explicit specification. It treats the item being tested as a "black box," with no examination being made of the internal structure or workings of the item.

border logic:

Software, firmware, or hardwired logic that is developed to connect application logic to COTS or third-party logic. Discussion: Although it is typically developed by the voting system manufacturer, border logic is constrained by the requirements of the third-party or COTS interface with which it must interact. It is not always possible for border logic to achieve its function while conforming to standard coding conventions. For this reason, border logic should be minimized relative to application logic and where possible, wrapped in a conforming interface. An example of border logic that could not be so wrapped is a customized boot manager that connects a bootable voting application to a COTS BIOS.

callable unit:

(Of a software program or analogous logical design) Function, method, operation, subroutine, procedure, or analogous structural unit that appears within a module.

candidate:

Person contending in a contest for office. Discussion: A candidate may be explicitly presented as one of the contest choices or may be a write-in candidate.

cast ballot:

Ballot in which the voter has taken final action in the selection of contest choices and irrevocably confirmed his or her intent to vote as selected. See also read ballot and counted ballot.

cast vote record:

Archival record of all votes produced by a single voter. Discussion: Cast vote records may be in electronic, paper, or other form. Electronic cast vote records are also called ballot images.

CCOS:

Central-count optical scanner.

central election official:

Role defined in Part 1 Section 5.4.

central tabulator:

Tabulator that counts votes from multiple precincts at a central location. Discussion: Voted ballots are typically placed into secure storage at the polling place and then transported or transmitted to a central tabulator. A tabulator that may be configured for use either in the precinct or in the central location may satisfy the requirements for both Precinct tabulator and Central tabulator.

central-count optical scanner:

Optical scanner used as a central tabulator. Discussion: Most machines in this class are special purpose machines that use reflected light to identify marks at specific locations on the ballot. They are designed to read stacks of ballots at a time.

challenged ballot:

Ballot cast by a voter whose eligibility to vote is disputed by someone who is not an election official. See also provisional ballot.

choice:

Contest choice.

CIF:

Common Industry Format.

class:

Identified set of voting systems or voting devices sharing a specified characteristic or characteristics. See Part 1 Section 2.5.

closed primary:

Primary election in which the voter receives a ballot containing only those party-specific contests pertaining to the political party with which the voter is affiliated, along with non-party-specific contests presented at the same election. Discussion: Usually, unaffiliated voters are permitted to vote only on non-party-specific contests.

combined precinct:

Two or more precincts assigned the same polling place.

Common Industry Format:

Format described in ISO/IEC 25062:2006 "Common Industry Format (CIF) for Usability Test Reports" [ISO06e]. Discussion: CIF is the format required for summative usability test reporting.

completed system response time:

The time taken from when the voter performs some detectible action to when the voting system completes its response and settles into a stable state (e.g., finishes "painting" the screen with a new page).

configuration data:

Non-executable input to software, firmware, or hardwired logic, not including vote data.

conformity assessment:

Demonstration that specified requirements relating to a product, process, system, person or body are fulfilled. ([ISO04a])

contest choice:

That with which a vote in a given ballot position is associated (e.g., a candidate, or the value Yes or the value No).

contest:

(1) A single decision being put before the voters (e.g., the selection of candidates to fill a particular public office or the approval or disapproval of a constitutional amendment). Discussion: This term subsumes other terms such as "race," "question," and "issue" that are sometimes used to refer to specific kinds of contests. (2) Subdivision of a ballot pertaining to a single decision being put before the voters.

core logic:

Subset of application logic that is responsible for vote recording and tabulation.

COTS:

Software, firmware, device or component that is used in the United States by many different people or organizations for many different applications and that is incorporated into the voting system with no manufacturer- or application-specific modification. Discussion: (1) The expansion of COTS as Commercial Off-The-Shelf is no longer helpful, since much of what satisfies the requirements is non-commercial software that is not available in stores. The acronym COTS is used here only because it is familiar to the audience. (2) By requiring "many different applications," this definition deliberately prevents any application logic from receiving a COTS designation.

counted ballot:

Read ballot whose votes are included in the vote totals. Discussion: A provisional or challenged ballot that is not accepted may be read, but it is not counted. See cast ballot, read ballot.

credential issuance:

Determination of what ballot configuration is appropriate for a given voter and creation of the voting credentials necessary for ballot activation.

cross-party endorsement:

Endorsement of a given contest choice by two or more political parties.

cumulative voting:

Voting variation in which the voter is entitled to allocate a fixed number of votes (N) over a list of M contest choices or write-ins. Discussion: Unlike N-of-M voting, cumulative voting allows the voter to allocate more than one vote to a given contest choice. The voter is not obliged to allocate all N votes.

CVR:

Cast vote record.

device:

Physical contrivance and any supporting supplies, materials, and logic that together form a functional unit that performs assigned tasks as an integrated whole.

direct record electronic:

Combination VEBD and tabulator that gathers votes via an electronic voter interface, records voting data and ballot images in memory components, and produces a tabulation of the voting data. Discussion: A typical DRE presents contest choices to the voter on an electronic monitor, and after the voter finishes the ballot the voter's votes are stored locally on the computer.

DRE:

Direct record electronic.

EBM:

Electronically-assisted ballot marker.

EBM-marked paper ballot:

Ballot marked by an EBM.

EBP:

Electronic ballot printer.

ECOS:

EMPB-capable optical scanner.

election district:

Administrative division in which voters are entitled to vote in contests that are specific to that division, such as those for state senators and delegates. Discussion: An election district may overlap multiple precincts, and a precinct may overlap multiple election districts (see split precinct).

election judge:

Role defined in Part 1 Section 5.4.

election management system:

Tabulator used to prepare ballots and programs for use in casting and counting votes and to consolidate, report, and display election results. Discussion: This device receives results data from the vote-capture devices, accumulates the results, and reports the accumulated results. Typically, the election management system will interact with several different classes of voting devices. The EMS receives election results from electronic media devices in one or more of four connections: modem, local bus, direct serial, and/or local area Ethernet.

election official:

Central election official, election judge, or poll worker.

election verification:

Confirmation that all recorded votes were counted correctly. See also voter verification.

electronic ballot printer:

EBM that prints an entire ballot, including ballot style-dependent content.

electronic device:

Voting device that uses electricity.

electronic voter interface:

Component of an electronic vote-capture device that communicates ballot information to the voter and accepts input from the voter.

electronically-assisted ballot marker:

VEBD that produces an executed, human-readable paper ballot as a result, and that does not make any other lasting record of the voter's votes. Discussion: One kind of EBM presents contest choices to the voter on an electronic monitor; after the voter finishes the ballot, the voter's choices are printed on a paper ballot that is the only record of the voter's choices. However, vote-by-telephone systems that are in use at the time of this writing are also EBMs. The voter uses an audio interface (remotely) and a paper ballot is produced (centrally). An EBM may mark ballot positions on a pre-printed ballot or it may print an entire ballot (the latter kind are called EBPs); however, in any event, the ballot produced is assumed to be human-readable and comparable to an MMPB.

EMPB:

EBM-marked paper ballot.

EMPB-capable optical scanner:

Optical scanner used to count EMPBs.

EMS:

Election management system.

endorsement:

Approval by a political party (e.g., as the candidate that the party elects to field in a particular contest and/or as the candidate that should receive straight party votes). A contest choice may be endorsed by more than one party. See also, affiliation.

end-to-end:

(1) (Security) Supporting both voter verification and election verification. (2) (Generically) Covering the entire elections process, from election definition through the reporting of final results.

error rate:

Ratio of the number of errors that occur to the volume of data processed. ([VSS2002] I.3.2.1) Discussion: The specific error rate used in the benchmark for voting system accuracy is report total error rate.

failure rate:

Ratio of the number of failures that occur to the volume of data processed. Discussion: Failures may be divided, for example, into user-serviceable and non-user-serviceable categories, and the measure of volume varies by device class.

failure:

(Voting system reliability) Event that results in (a) loss of one or more functions, (b) degradation of performance such that the device is unable to perform its intended function for longer than 10 seconds, (c) automatic reset, restart or reboot of the voting device, operating system or application software, (d) a requirement for an unanticipated intervention by a person in the role of poll worker or technician before the test can continue, or (e) error messages and/or audit log entries indicating that a failure has occurred. (Source: Expanded from [VSS2002] I.3.4.3.) Discussion: In plain language, failures are equipment breakdowns, including software crashes, such that continued use without service or replacement is worrisome to impossible. Normal, routine occurrences like running out of paper are not considered failures. Misfeeds of ballots into optical scanners are handled by a separate benchmark (Requirement Part 1: 6.3.3-A), so these are not included as failures for the general reliability benchmark.

fault:

Flaw in design or implementation that may result in the qualities or behavior of the voting system deviating from the qualities or behavior that are specified in the VVSG and/or in manufacturer-provided documentation.

find:

Determine and deliver a finding. (Based on [Oxford93] definition #11.)

finding:

Result of a formal evaluation by a test lab or accredited expert; verdict. (Based on [Oxford93] definition #6.)

hardwired logic:

Logic implemented through the design of an integrated circuit; the programming of a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Peripheral Interface Controller (PIC), or similar; the integration of smaller hardware components; or mechanical design (e.g., as in lever machines).

hesitation mark:

Small dot made by resting the point of a writing utensil on a ballot.

implementation statement:

Statement by a manufacturer indicating the capabilities, features, and optional functions and extensions that have been implemented in a voting system.

independent voter-verifiable record:

Record produced by an IVVR vote-capture device supporting voter verification (e.g., VVPAT, EBM). The record contains minimally a summary of the electronic CVR. A voter-verifiable paper record is an independent voter-verifiable record.

initial system response time:

The time taken from when the voter performs some detectible action (such as pressing a button) to when the voting system begins responding in some obvious way (such as an audible response or any change on the screen).

innovation class submission:

Voting system that includes one or more distinct innovative devices. Discussion: See Part 1 Section 2.7.2, Innovation Class Submissions.

in-person:

Voting that occurs at a polling place under the supervision of poll workers. Discussion: Also known as poll-site voting.

inspection:

Examination of a product design, product, process or installation and determination of its conformity with specific requirements or, on the basis of professional judgment, with general requirements. ([ISO04a])

instant runoff:

Ranked order voting.

IVVR vote-capture device:

Vote-capture device that achieves software independence through independent voter-verifiable records.

IVVR:

(1) Independent voter-verifiable record. (2) Voting system that achieves software independence through independent voter-verifiable records.

Logic defect:

Fault in software, firmware, or hardwired logic.

manually-marked paper ballot:

(1) IVVR vote-capture device consisting of a paper ballot and a writing utensil. (2) Paper ballot that was marked by a person using a writing utensil.

manufacturer:

Entity with ownership and control over a voting system submitted for testing.

marginal mark:

Mark within a voting target that does not conform to manufacturer specifications for a reliably detectable vote. Discussion: See Part 1 Section 7.7.5.1. The word "marginal" refers to the limit of what is detectable by an optical scanner, not the margin of the page. Marks that are outside of voting targets are called extraneous marks.

MCOS:

MMPB-capable optical scanner.

misfeed rate:

Ratio of the misfeed total to the total ballot volume (see Requirement Part 3: 5.3.5-B).

MMPB:

Manually-marked paper ballot.

MMPB-capable optical scanner:

Optical scanner used to count MMPBs.

module:

Structural unit of software or analogous logical design, typically containing several callable units that are tightly coupled. Discussion: Modular design requires that inter-module coupling be loose and occur over defined interfaces. A module should contain all elements needed to compile or interpret successfully and have limited access to data in other modules. A module should be substitutable with another module whose interfaces match the original module. In software, a module typically corresponds to a single source code file or a source code / header file pair. In object-oriented languages, this typically corresponds to a single class of object.

N-of-M:

Voting variation in which the voter is entitled to allocate a fixed number of votes (N) over a list of M contest choices or write-ins, with the constraint that at most 1 vote may be allocated to a given contest choice. See also cumulative voting. Discussion: The voter is not obliged to allocate all N votes.

non-executable:

Declarative or informative in nature; not subject to interpretation or compilation as programming language instructions.

non-party-specific contest:

Contest such that eligibility to vote in that contest is independent of political party affiliation or lack thereof.

observational test:

Operational test conducted on voting devices during an election, by real voters, to establish confidence that the VVPR is produced correctly when assistive technology is used. Discussion: Devices subjected to observational testing are used for normal collection of votes; the votes so collected are included in the election tally.

open primary:

Primary election in which the voter may choose a political party at the time of voting and vote in party-specific contests associated with that party, along with non-party-specific contests presented at the same election. Discussion: Also known as pick-your-party primary. Some states require voters to publicly declare their choice of party at the polling place, after which the poll worker provides or activates the appropriate ballot. Other states allow the voters to make their choice of party within the privacy of the voting booth. Voters also are permitted to vote on non-party-specific contests that are presented at the same election.

operational test:

Test conducted on voting equipment in an active (operational) state.

optical scanner:

Tabulator that counts votes recorded by means of marks made on the surface of a paper ballot.

paper-based device:

Voting device that records votes, counts votes, and/or produces a report of the vote count from votes cast on paper cards or sheets.

party-specific contest:

Contest such that eligibility to vote in that contest is restricted based on political party affiliation or lack thereof. Discussion: The affiliation might be the registered affiliation of the voter or it might be an affiliation declared at the time of voting. See closed primary, open primary.

PCOS:

Precinct-count optical scanner.

Perfect Ballot Index:

The ratio of the number of cast ballots containing no erroneous votes over the number of cast ballots containing one or more errors (either a vote for an unintended choice, or a missing vote). Metric used in the VPP.

poll worker:

Role defined in Part 1 Section 5.4.

precinct tabulator:

Tabulator that counts votes at the polling place. Discussion: These devices typically tabulate ballots as they are cast and print the results after the close of polls. For DREs and some paper-based systems, these devices provide electronic storage of the vote count and may transmit results to a central location over public telecommunication networks. A tabulator that may be configured for use either in the precinct or in the central location may satisfy the requirements for both Precinct tabulator and Central tabulator.

precinct:

Administrative division in which voters cast ballots at the same polling place. Discussion: It is possible for two or more precincts to cast ballots at a given polling place. See combined precinct.

precinct-count optical scanner:

Optical scanner used as a precinct tabulator. Discussion: A PCOS is a special purpose scanner designed to enable the voter to feed his or her own paper ballot—one ballot at a time.

primary election:

Election held to determine which candidate(s) will represent a political party for particular offices in the general election and/or to narrow the field of candidates in non-party-specific contests prior to the general election. Discussion: From the functional viewpoint of the voting system, the defining features of a primary election are the presence of party-specific contests and a requirement to report separate totals for the different political parties.

privacy enclosure:

Equipment, such as a booth or partition, provided in conjunction with a vote-capture device to make it difficult for anyone other than the voter to determine through visual observation how the voter voted.

programmed device:

Electronic device that includes application logic.

provisional ballot:

Ballot cast by a voter whose eligibility to vote is disputed by an election official. See also challenged ballot.

provisional-challenged ballot:

Challenged ballot or provisional ballot.

ranked order:

Voting variation in which voters express their intent by ordering contest choices from strongest to weakest preference. Discussion: Implementations of ranked order voting differ in whether voters are required to rank every choice and in the algorithm used to determine a winner or winners.

read ballot:

Cast ballot that has been interpreted by a tabulator to determine what votes it contains. Discussion: A read ballot may or may not be counted. For example, an optical scan cast ballot that has been scanned successfully is a read ballot. See also cast ballot and counted ballot.

record:

(n) Preserved evidence of activities performed or results achieved (e.g., forms, reports, test results). (v) To create a record.

relevant contest:

Contest appearing in a ballot style or ballot associated with a given reporting context. Discussion: If a contest is included in a ballot style associated with a given reporting context, that contest is relevant even if no ballots of that style were counted.

report total error rate:

Ratio of the report total error to the report total volume (see Requirement Part 3: 5.3.4-B).

report:

Self-contained, time stamped, archival record, such as a printout or analogous electronic file that is produced at a specific time and subsequently protected from modification.

reporting context:

Scope within which reported totals or counts are calculated (e.g., precinct or election district). Discussion: Reporting contexts may overlap in complex ways; for example, in the case of split precincts, there is not a simple containment relationship between election districts and precincts.

review-required ballot:

Ballot that is flagged or separated for some form of manual processing.

software independence:

Quality of a voting system or voting device such that a previously undetected change or fault in software cannot cause an undetectable change or error in election outcome.

split precinct:

Precinct serving voters from two or more administrative divisions, such as