About the Program
In May 2024, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) announced the launch of the nation's first Voluntary Electronic Poll Book Certification Program at the federal level. This program was established under the EAC’s Election Supporting Technology Evaluation Program (ESTEP) following the successful conclusion of a pilot in 2023, in which seven e-poll books were evaluated by EAC-accredited test laboratories against drafted requirements. The goal of the Voluntary Electronic Poll Book Certification Program is to ensure that electronic poll books used across various jurisdictions are secure, accessible, reliable, and capable of supporting the dynamic needs of modern elections.
This program is open to any organization that manufactures or develops electronic poll books for purchase or use in the United States, including commercial or homegrown systems. Participation is entirely voluntary, but those who wish to participate must conform to the program’s procedural requirements.
“The demand for national testing of election supporting technology has been repeatedly affirmed by numerous stakeholders, including the Congress, which highlighted the necessity for modern, secure, and reliable election systems. We hope manufacturers and states will participate in the certification program and implement these standards. This is an important moment for the EAC and for the evolving future of election technology.”
A Joint Statement from EAC Commissioners on February 20, 2025
What are E-Poll Books?
“Equipment (including hardware, firmware, and software), materials, and documentation used to partially automate the process of checking in voters, assigning voters the correct ballot style, and marking off voters who have been issued a ballot.” (VEPBCR V1.0)
Simply defined, electronic poll books (EPBs) are laptops, tablets, or kiosks designed to replace paper poll lists, that access digital voter registration records for their representative jurisdiction. In contrast to a voting system, EPBs’ primary users are election workers and do not collect or tabulate cast vote records. EPBs were initially designed in an effort to automate the election process and alleviate the burden on election workers, who update voter registration records and evaluate a voter’s eligibility to participate in the election process. In recent years, these systems have evolved to serve a variety of administrative functions before, during, and after an election. EPBs can now be used to capture voter signatures, identify a voter’s ballot style or preferred language, detect ineligible voters, and extract data reports.
Questions? Please Contact:
ESTEP’s Voluntary Electronic Poll Book Certification Program
[email protected]
ESTEP Electronic Poll Book (EPB) Resources
Certification Resources
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Informational Resources
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Preparing for Certification: A Quick-Start Guide for Manufacturers
Before initiating participation, manufacturers must become familiar with the following key program documents:
- Election Supporting Technology Evaluation Program (ESTEP) Manual: This manual outlines the full lifecycle of a test campaign, including procedural requirements to participate and maintain certification.
- Voluntary Electronic Poll Book Certification Requirements (VEPBCR): Establishes the baseline functionality, security, and accessibility standards that electronic poll books must meet in order to achieve certification.
Contact the EAC to request a Pre-Testing Consultation. This informal meeting provides manufacturers with guidance on system eligibility, documentation requirements, and program expectations.
Email: [email protected]
Manufacturers must register with the EAC before submitting any products for testing.
- ESTEP Manufacturer Registration Form: Complete and submit this form to [email protected] along with the required supporting documents, including organizational structure, facility details, and quality assurance policies.
Once approved, the EAC will issue a unique 3-letter manufacturer ID code and add the manufacturer to ESTEP’s Registered Manufacturers webpage.
Note: Keep your registration information current; updates are required within 30 days of any changes.
Before testing can begin, manufacturers must ensure their systems are fully prepared for evaluation.
- VEPBCR 1.0 Test Readiness and Testing Matrix: Complete this test readiness checklist to verify that all technical requirements are met and all documentation is available.
After confirming test readiness, submit your full application package to the EAC. Required elements include:
- ESTEP Application for Participation Form
- All technical documentation associated with your system, including:
- System overview and versioning
- Functional diagrams
- Accessibility statements
- Training materials
- Coding conventions
- List of client jurisdictions (if applicable)
- Identification of your preferred EAC-accredited test laboratory
The EAC will review your submission and notify you within 10 business days if your application is accepted or requires additional information.
Program Videos & Testimonials
Case Studies on the New Initiatives in the EAC's Election Technology Division (02/19/2025)
"At the federal level, EAC certification brought accessibility into sharp focus. This experience pushed us to evaluate our poll pad application through an accessibility lens, which was both challenging and rewarding. It forced us to refine our approach, tailoring our documentation and improving how we communicate accessibility features to customers. Now we're better equipped to guide poll workers on operating the system in ways to make it more usable for individuals with disabilities."
Steele Shippy, Chief Strategy Officer at KNOWiNK
"The EAC test campaign has more structure to it than most state campaigns. The EAC provides oversight with weekly meetings and review of any issues that might arise during the test campaign cycle. This helps provide consistency not only throughout that particular project but the program as a whole."
Mike Santos, Voting System Test Lab Director at SLI Compliance
"For the broader community, this is a signal that the certification program is not just conceptual—it’s operational and effective – and it’s producing systems that meet the federal standards we’ve set... We expect that as more manufacturers undergo certification, the overall quality, security, and accessibility of electronic poll books will improve, benefiting elections across the country."
Elizabeth Beatrice, Election Technology Specialist at the EAC
EAC Virtual Meeting on the Voluntary Electronic Poll Book Pilot Report (11/17/2023)
"ES&S believes that uniform testing for electronic poll books, similar to the EAC voting system standards, will streamline the process for manufacturers, voting system test laboratories, as well as jurisdictions, with the added benefit of improved performance and security. We look forward to our continued involvement in the program."
TJ Burns, State Certification Manager for Election Systems at ES&S
"If manufacturers go through federal testing, everybody knows what you’ve done, and the states can then actually scale back some of their specific requirements because they’re going to be overlapped with the federal requirements... By unifying all of the testing at a federal level, you would be able to pull along some of the states that want to develop standards but may not have the resources to do so."
Jack Cobb, Co-Founder and Laboratory Director at Pro V&V
"If you’re participating in a federal certification program, you are getting that expertise through voting system testing laboratories coming in house and doing that same type of testing, and then using those known baseline standards. I view that as a huge advantage to local jurisdictions to be able to participate in a program like this."
Scott Jarrett, Director of Elections in Maricopa County, Arizona
"By the EAC putting these standards forward, it builds confidence... It would be helpful to other states to have these recommendations for certification."
Chad Kinsella, Associate Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the Voting System Technical Oversight Program at Ball State University