Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) are a set of specifications and requirements against which voting systems can be tested to determine if they meet required standards. Some factors examined under these tests include basic functionality, accessibility, and security capabilities. While the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) mandates the EAC to develop and maintain these requirements, adhering to the VVSG is voluntary except in select states that require it by law.
On February 10, 2021, the EAC's Commissioners unanimously adopted the newest VVSG standard, version 2.0. In November and December of 2022, the VVSG 2.0 was fully implemented with the accreditation of both Voting System Test Labs (VSTL) by the EAC to test to the new standard.
As described in section 3 of the EAC's VVSG Lifecycle Policy, old VVSG standards will be deprecated 12 months after new major VVSG standards are implemented. With the accreditation of the first VSTL to test to VVSG 2.0 on November 15, 2022, VVSG 1.0 and VVSG 1.1 will be deprecated on November 16, 2023.
The EAC will continue to accept applications for voting systems to be tested against VVSG 1.0 and 1.1 until November 15, 2023. After that point, VVSG 1.0 and 1.1 will be deprecated, and all applications for voting systems to be newly certified by the EAC must be for VVSG 2.0 or limited maintenance modifications to existing EAC-certified systems.

Key points regarding VVSG deprecation are:
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Voting systems will not be decertified by the EAC as the result of VVSG deprecation. Deprecation only affects the standards manufacturers may use to obtain future EAC certifications, not systems previously certified to past standards.
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VVSG 1.0 and 1.1 certified voting systems may continue to be used and do not need to be replaced by systems certified to VVSG 2.0, unless otherwise dictated by individual state statute.
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The EAC has developed resources to assist election officials with communications about deprecation of these standards and reassuring the public that our voting systems are secure and accurate.
For a full text of each version of the VVSG, including drafts, and other documents pertinent to VVSG, please see below.
Approved Guidelines
Voluntary Voting System Guidelines Version 2.0
- VVSG 2.0
- VVSG 2.0 Test Assertions 1.2
- VVSG 2.0 Test Assertions v1.2 Tracked Changes
- VVSG 2.0 Test Assertions 1.1 (Discontinued)
- VVSG 2.0 Requirements Matrix v1.1 (Excel)
- VVSG 2.0 Requirements Matrix (Discontinued)
- Public Comments (Excel)
- Press Release: 2021 VVSG Adopted
- Major updates to the VVSG 2.0
Voluntary Voting System Guidelines Version 1.1
- VVSG 1.1 Volume 1 - 2015
- Volume 1 (Text Version)
- VVSG 1.1 Volume 2 - 2015
- Volume 2 (Text Version)
- Public Comments (Excel)
- Press Release: 2015 VVSG Adopted
Voluntary Voting System Guidelines Version 1.0 (2005)
- Volume 1 (PDF 2.06MB)
- Volume 1 (Text Version)
- Volume 2 (PDF 1.77MB)
- Volume 2 (Text Version)
- Public Comments
- Summary of Changes
- Press Release: 2005 VVSG Adopted
- Fact Sheet
- Frequently Asked Questions
2002 Voting System Standards
Prior to the passage of HAVA, voting systems were assessed and qualified by the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED), a nonpartisan association consisting of state level election directors nationwide. These voting systems were tested against the 1990 and 2002 voting system standards developed by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). With HAVA's enactment, the responsibility for developing voting system standards was transferred from the FEC to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and their new iterations are now the EAC Voluntary Voting System Guidelines.
- Voting System Standards Volume 1 (PDF 7.3MB)
- Voting System Standards Volume 2 (PDF 4.5MB)
- Fact Sheet
1990 FEC Standards
VVSG Lifecycle Policy
The EAC VVSG Lifecycle Policy facilitates migration to new VVSG standards by providing guidance on the types of version changes, Voting System Test Laboratory (VSTL) accreditation, deprecation of obsolete major standards, and establishing a periodic review timeline for new standards going forward. The policy defines changes that may be made to systems certified to deprecated standards and describes the process for updating the standards as defined in the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
- VVSG Lifecycle Policy Redline Draft document (updated October 7, 2022)
- Public Comments for VVSG Lifecycle Policy (Excel)
- VVSG Lifecycle Policy (approved October 7, 2022)
Drafts
Voluntary Voting System Guidelines Version 2.0 (Drafts)
These documents are undergoing a non-substantive review which includes verifying font types, spacing, identifying misspellings, and grammatical errors.
- VVSG 2.0 draft (clean version) 2-9-2021
- VVSG 2.0 draft (redline version) 2-9-2021
- VVSG 2.0 draft (clean version) 1-29-2021
- VVSG 2.0 draft (redline version) 1-29-2021
- VVSG 2.0 Comment Compilation spreadsheet
- VSTL Program Manual Version 3 (clean version)
- VSTL Program Manual Version 3 (redline version)
- Testing and Certification Program Manual Version 3.0 (clean version)
- Testing and Certification Program Manual Version 3.0 (redline version)
At the September 2016 TGDC Meeting, the Committee, through the Project Charter, adopted the name VVSG 2.0 for the next iteration of guidelines. Also, the Project Charter laid out the proposed structure of the document, as well as a proposed timeline. At the February 2017 TGDC Meeting, the scope of the document was unanimously decided and a draft of the guidelines was presented.
- TGDC Recommended VVSG 2.0 Principles and Guidelines
- Scope and Structure
- Charter
- Future VVSG Development Goals & White Paper
- TGDC Recommended VVSG 2.0 Requirements
- VVSG Public Working Groups
Voluntary Voting System Guidelines Version 1.1 (Drafts)
The VVSG 1.1 was originally offered for public comment during the summer of 2009. The revisions to VVSG 1.1 were taken almost exclusively from the 2007 TGDC Recommended Guidelines. Additional changes were made to VVSG 1.1 after the initial 120-day public comment period. Then the EAC reopened the guidelines for an additional 130-day public comment period. The VVSG 1.1 was adopted on March 31, 2015.
- VVSG 1.1 Volume 1 - 2012 (130-day public comment period)
- VVSG 1.1 Volume 2 - 2012 (130-day public comment period)
- VVSG 1.1 2012 Notice in the Federal Register
- VVSG 1.1 Volume 1 - 2009 (120-day public comment period)
- VVSG 1.1 Volume 2 - 2009 (120-day public comment period)
- Voluntary Voting System Guidelines Draft Version 1.1 - 2009 (Proposed Revisions and Comments)
- VVSG 1.1 2009 Notice in the Federal Register
- Mapping Volume 1 of VVSG 1.0 to VVSG 1.1
- Mapping Volume 2 of VVSG 1.0 to VVSG 1.1
2007 TGDC Recommended Guidelines (Drafts)
After adopting the 2005 VVSG, EAC tasked the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) with developing the next iteration of the VVSG. The TGDC delivered its draft recommendations to the EAC in August of 2007. After receiving the TGDC's recommendations, the EAC put them out for public comment. The public comment period ended in May 2008 with the EAC receiving more than 3000 comments. Based on those comments and input from a variety of stakeholders, EAC decided to issue proposed revisions to the 2005 VVSG.
Election Operations Assessment
The goal of the Election Operations Assessment is to produce a scientifically-founded risk assessment tool that will facilitate informed decision making by EAC and its Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) when developing voluntary voting system guidelines.
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Election Operations Assessment: Threat Trees and Matrices and Threat Instance Risk Analyzer (TIRA)
- VVSG Ad Hoc Committee Report_SB
- Elections Operations Assessment Summarization
- Phase I Report