Public Meeting Scheduled for July 16 to include EAC Staff, Hart InterCivic, and SLI Compliance
This week, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) announced the first voting system certified to the agency’s Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) 2.0. Hart InterCivic’s Verity Vanguard 1.0 is the first voting system to complete certification to the latest standards.
“The first voting system certified to VVSG 2.0 marks a major milestone in the EAC’s commitment to advancing the next generation of voting systems. Hart Verity Vanguard 1.0 is the first system certified to these standards, but it will not be the last. The EAC staff has done great work to make this new standard a reality,” EAC Chairman Donald Palmer, Vice Chair Thomas Hicks, Commissioner Christy McCormick, and Commissioner Ben Hovland said in a joint statement.
Several steps remain before voters see this and other VVSG 2.0 certified systems at their voting location. These steps include state-level testing and certification, funding, procurement planning, staff training, and public testing are part of the process for jurisdictions to deploy new voting equipment. As this process moves forward, the EAC will continue to support election offices to ensure the systems in use at voting locations are secure and accurate.
On July 16 at 11 a.m. ET, the EAC will be hosting a virtual meeting to discuss the process of certifying the first system to VVSG 2.0. The panelists, including EAC staff, and representatives from Hart InterCivic, and SLI Compliance, will also discuss next steps for VVSG 2.0 certified systems. The meeting will be live streamed on the EAC’s YouTube channel.
The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) mandates that the EAC accredit voting system test laboratories and certify voting systems. According to the 2024 Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS), nearly 93% of states, the territories, and DC require voting system testing and certification either by statute or through a formal administrative rule or guidance. About 46% of states reported using the EAC-adopted VVSG, while others require testing to federal standards or testing by a federally accredited laboratory.
On February 10, 2021, the EAC Commissioners unanimously adopted the newest standard, VVSG 2.0, which was developed with a forward-looking approach that acknowledges the evolving landscape of election technology. The new guidelines are designed to meet the opportunities and challenges of future elections by incorporating updated cybersecurity protections, enhanced accessibility features, and support for more flexible system architectures. These updates improve the voter experience and further safeguard the integrity of the voting process, building on the solid foundation established by previous standards. The EAC now only accepts applications for voting system certification to VVSG 2.0. The only exception is for maintenance updates to systems already certified to VVSG 1.0. However, voting systems certified to VVSG 1.0 standards remain federally certified. These systems can continue to be used securely in accordance with state or local law as all EAC-certified voting systems remain secure, regardless of which VVSG they were certified to.