WASHINGTON, D.C.— On Wednesday, December 21, 2022, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) Commissioners unanimously voted to accredit Pro V&V as the second Voting System Test Laboratory (VSTL) able to test voting systems to the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) 2.0 following SLI Compliance’s accreditation on November 15, 2022. The VVSG are a set of specifications and requirements against which voting systems can be tested to determine if the systems meet baseline standards.
EAC Chairman Thomas Hicks, Vice Chair Christy McCormick, Commissioner Ben Hovland, and Commissioner Donald Palmer issued the following joint statement: “With Pro V&V’s accreditation to test to VVSG 2.0, both of the EAC’s accredited laboratories are ready to test systems to the latest standards, and we can focus our attention on supporting testing and certification to the new standard. This is critical as manufacturers prepare voting systems for the 2024 presidential election. We continue to welcome feedback from stakeholders that will help improve the VVSG and the EAC’s testing and certification process.”
Prior to this new certification, both Pro V&V and SLI Compliance successfully completed independent assessments by the EAC and the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program.
As reported when SLI Compliance was accredited, modifications to systems certified to VVSG 1.0 will continue to be accepted through November 15, 2023. At that point, VVSG 1.0 and 1.1 will no longer be accepted to test new systems, and only maintenance modifications will be accepted for systems certified to the legacy standards. These modifications include:
- Security updates - Software patches or hardware mitigations to address known security vulnerabilities and exploits.
- Bug fixes to correct reported anomalies.
- Replacements of Commercial off the Shelf components due to end-of-life.
- Jurisdictional rule changes requiring new functionality.
- Updating or adding components compliant with VVSG 2.0.
Additionally, all voting systems submitted to the EAC going forward will undergo penetration testing.