Event discussed the first federally certified electronic poll book and election officials’ experiences with the Field Services Program
On Wednesday, February 19, 2025, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) held the public hearing “Case Studies on the New Initiatives in the EAC’s Election Technology Division,” featuring discussions about the agency’s Election Supporting Technology Evaluation Program (ESTEP) and its Field Services Program.
(Panelists testify before the EAC Commissioners during the February 19, 2025 hearing.)
The event included the announcement of the first federally certified electronic poll book, KNOWiNK’s Poll Pad 3.6, the first to complete ESTEP’s Voluntary Electronic Poll Book Certification Program. The EAC issued the certification on February 18, the day before the agency’s public meeting.
KNOWiNK Chief Strategy Officer Steele Shippy was at the meeting to discuss the manufacturer’s experience going through the certification program. He was joined on a panel by Mike Santos, Voting System Test Lab Director of SLI Compliance, and Elizabeth Beatrice, an EAC Election Technology Specialist who leads the electronic poll book testing efforts under ESTEP Director Jay Phelps.
(Elizabeth Beatrice, an EAC Election Technology Specialist, speaks on the panel “Experiences During First Federal Electronic Poll Book Test Campaign.”)
“KNOWiNK’s certification marks a major milestone for the EAC and reinforces our agency’s role in setting a national standard for [the] security, accessibility, and reliability of election supporting technologies,” said Ms. Beatrice, EAC Election Technology Specialist. “This first certification is a win for public confidence in election supporting technology, demonstrating that election systems are undergoing rigorous, independent testing. It helps reinforce transparency and accountability, as voters can trust that the technology used at polling places has met high standards. 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."
(KNOWiNK Chief Strategy Officer Steele Shippy speaks on the panel “Experiences During First Federal Electronic Poll Book Test Campaign.”)
“At the federal level, EAC certification brought accessibility into sharp focus,” said Mr. Shippy, KNOWiNK Chief Strategy Officer during the hearing. “This experience pushed us to evaluate our poll pad application through an accessibility lens, which was both challenging and rewarding… The EAC process elevated this commitment by requiring us to conduct sophisticated usability testing with a third-party independent agency. This wasn't just a check-the-box exercise; it involved rigorous independent testing for a range of needs, including low vision, blindness, and dexterity or mobility impairments.”
(Mike Santos, Voting System Test Lab Director of SLI Compliance, speaks on the panel “Experiences During First Federal Electronic Poll Book Test Campaign.")
“The EAC test campaign has more structure to it than most state campaigns,” said Mr. Santos, Voting System Test Lab Director of SLI Compliance. “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. At SLI, we strive to maintain consistency between every e-poll book test campaign we conduct, but from a program level, there can be differences between test labs on how requirements are interpreted and examined against a system. So, the EAC oversight helps to maintain the needed consistency throughout the program amongst each test campaign.”
The meeting’s second panel focused on the agency’s Field Services Program, to address the ongoing post-certification needs of states and local jurisdictions. These efforts include fielded voting system verification, anomaly analysis, manufacturer audits, hash verification, and training. The program provides the agency with insight into how EAC-certified systems operate in the field and verifies that those systems are operating in jurisdictions just as the EAC certified them. Dan Cox, Manager of the EAC’s Field Services Program, spoke on the panel with Nebraska Deputy Secretary of State Wayne Bena and Brian Kruse, Douglas County, Nebraska, Election Commissioner. They discussed the successes and lessons learned from their experiences with Field Services in Douglas County. After hearing the updates and feedback, the EAC Commissioners unanimously approved a recommendation that the Field Services Program continue at the agency.
(Dan Cox, Manager of the EAC’s Field Services Program, speaks on the panel “Field Services Program Experiences.”)
“Verification is both a security and chain of custody tool. We talk a lot about hash verification, and there are very important reasons for that,” said Mr. Cox, Manager of the Field Services Program. “The Field Services Program uses hash verification as its primary system verification tool, and it comes with added benefits. As a method, it's a long-standing and industry-accepted approach to matching data with data. With hashing, jurisdictions are able to match, at arm's length from their vendor and the certification body, deployed systems with their gold standard set of values on a bit-by-bit level. Combined with best practices in pre-election testing and post-election audit, all stakeholders have additional peace of mind in their equipment security at, in my opinion, marginal cost in time and resources.”
(Nebraska Deputy Secretary of State Wayne Bena speaks on the panel “Field Services Program Experiences.”)
“Our interaction with the Field Services team has been absolutely fantastic, from the pre-planning to the actual visit, to working on the report afterward, and the release of the report,” said Nebraska Deputy Secretary of State Bena.
Deputy Secretary Bena later added during the hearing, “We do not have an internal testing and certification program, so we rely on the EAC and their work to initially allow any system to be [used] in the state of Nebraska. So, to have something like this to show us that what we bought is still what we bought is very important.”
(Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse speaks on the panel “Field Services Program Experiences.”)
“The EAC is not only a division of the federal government, but it is a respected entity and organization. When we work with the EAC and the Field Services team, and then the [Douglas County Nebraska Project] report is put out, and we have a hearing like this, that lends immense credibility to the findings,” said Douglas County Election Commissioner Kruse. “Some folks may need a different avenue than other folks to see that elections are safe and secure. Some may need multiple. But if you just remain patient and keep working with them and showing them good, sound, professional outcomes that show elections and counting machines and tabulating machines are safe and secure, you know, I think that's the best process for all of us to use to keep moving forward.”
Additionally, the Chief Election Official for the State of Hawaii, Scott T. Nago, submitted a letter to the EAC on his experience with the Field Services Program, as did Election Systems & Software, LLC (ES&S), which provided a letter detailing the manufacturer’s experience with the program.
A recording of the meeting is available on the EAC’s YouTube channel.