The Technical Guidance Development Committee (TGDC) of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has requested that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conduct a short-term (several months) research study on accessibility and usability considerations for remote electronic Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Rights Act (UOCAVA) [19] voting. The requested result of the study is this white paper1
This white paper describes findings from the research NIST performed in accordance with the TGDC request. It identifies issues pertaining to accessibility and usability for UOCAVA voters using the most common approaches to remote voting systems including Web browsers, Web ballot repositories, online ballot markers/electronic form fillers, e-mail, kiosks, telephone-based interfaces and fax machines. The Appendix summarizes recommendations to resolve the issues. The audience of this paper is members of the TGDC, the EAC, election officials, the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) . [4], and parties involved in the implementation and deployment of UOCAVA systems.