GLOSSARY OF TERMS DATABASE | U.S. Election Assistance Commission

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Glossary Term	Definition
t-coil	Inductive coil used in some hearing aids to allow reception of an audio band magnetic field signal, instead of an acoustic signal. The magnetic or inductive mode of reception is commonly used in conjunction with telephones, auditorium loop systems and other systems that provide the required magnetic field output.
Tabletop Exercise	A discussion-based drill where qualified personnel discuss scenarios and responses in order to validate plans and procedures. Also called Incident Response Planning or TTX.
tabulate	Process of totaling votes.
tabulating equipment	The hardware, software, or supplies used to count votes.
tabulating equipment memory card	An electronic data storage device used for storing digital vote totaling information, typically using flash memory.
tabulation	Process of totaling votes.
Tabulation Audit	A post-election audit that involves hand-counting a sample of votes on paper records, then comparing those counts to the corresponding vote totals originally reported as a check on the accuracy of election results, and to detect discrepancies using accurate hand-counts of the paper records as the benchmark.
Tabulation Report	A report containing the counts associated with ballots tabulated for a given election district.
tabulator	The person or device that counts votes.
Tactile Controls	Controls that are discernable or perceptible by touch using hands, feet, or other parts of the body. (Does not include touch screens.) Dual switches are a form of tactile controls that can be used by voters with minimal use of their hands.
tally	Process of totaling votes.
tally sheet	The paper form or electronic record used to collect data in the process of counting votes.
tape	Report run from a vote tabulation device to show the total number of votes cast per candidate or issue.
tax
tax assessor
tax collector
tear
technical data package	Vendor documentation relating to the voting system required to be submitted with the system as a precondition of certification testing.
telecommunications	Transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user's choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received.
term	term of office, term limits
term limitations
term limits	A legal restriction that limits the total number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office.
term of office	The period of time for which a person is elected or appointed to hold a public office. Terms of elected office are usually 2, 4 or 6 years.
test	Procedure used to determine one or more characteristics of a given product, process, or service according to a specified procedure for conformity assessment. A test may be an operational test or a non-operating test (for example, an inspection).
test campaign	Sum of the work by a voting system test lab on a single product or system from contract through test plan, conduct of testing for each requirement (including hardware, software, and systems), reporting, archiving, and responding to issues afterwards.
test deck	A set of marked ballots with a predetermined outcome. Used for logic and accuracy testing of a voting system.
test method	Specified technical procedure for performing a test, procedures by which tests are derived, or a combination of these.
test plan	Document created prior to testing that outlines the scope and nature of testing, items to be tested, test approach, resources needed to perform testing, test tasks, risks and schedule.
Test Suite	Implementation of a set of operational tests for a particular object (such as a specific voting system) or class of objects (such as all voting systems that can interpret the language in which the test data are expressed).
testing laboratories	The process of performing any tests or procedures that are conducted in a controlled environment where the appropriate equipment, supplies, and certified expertise are available. Laboratory testing can be simply referred to as a laboratory test or lab test.
testing standard	Standard that is concerned with test methods, sometimes supplemented with other provisions related to testing, such as sampling, use of statistical methods or sequence of tests.
third party	A person or group besides the two primarily involved in a situation.
Third Party Auditor	A certified or otherwise credentialed individual or group, other than an election official, who is tasked with reviewing election materials.
third party candidate	A candidate seeking nomination for office, with a political party affiliation other than the two majority political parties (Republican and Democratic).
Third Party Logic	Software, firmware, or hardwired logic that is neither application logic nor COTS. This includes, for example, general-purpose software developed by a third party that is either customized (for example, ported to a new platform, as is Windows Embedded Compact), not widely used, or source-code generated by a COTS package.
Third Party Notification	A notification from a person or group besides the two primarily involved in a transaction. An example is a change of address notification from the US Postal Service forwarded to an elections office.