The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 led to the establishment of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and mandated the Commission to oversee the certification, decertification, and recertification of voting systems. This legislation marked the first instance of federal oversight in these activities and resulted in the creation of the EAC’s Voting System Testing & Certification Program (T&C). Since HAVA was enacted, the EAC has implemented new initiatives to assist election officials, including the Election Supporting Technology Evaluation Program (ESTEP) and Field Services Program (FSP).
The EAC's Election Technology Division encompasses the Voting System Testing & Certification Program (T&C), Election Supporting Technology Evaluation Program (ESTEP), and Field Services Program (FSP). These programs support state and local election officials by ensuring the reliability and security of voting systems and election-supporting technologies used in national elections.
EAC Election Technology Programs
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Voting System Testing & Certification Program (T&C)
This program provides federal testing and certification for voting systems.
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Election Supporting Technology Evaluation Program (ESTEP)
This program provides federal testing and certification for electronic poll books, and pilot testing for other technologies such as electronic ballot delivery systems, election night reporting systems, and voter registration systems.
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Field Services Program (FSP)
This program assists states and local jurisdictions in post-certification activities including systems verification and support services.
Election Technology Program information and quick links are included in the sections below.
For more information visit the dedicated Election Technology Program pages.
Voting System Testing & Certification Program (T&C)
The EAC’s Voting System Testing & Certification Program supports state and local election officials nationwide by providing voting system testing and certification for the hardware and software used in their voting systems. This has allowed states to procure new certified voting systems without the added expense of independent testing and certification. The program also provides for the accreditation of voting system testing laboratories. These accredited laboratories evaluate the voting systems to ensure they comply with federal standards.
Featured T&C Resources
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Election Supporting Technology Evaluation Program (ESTEP)
The EAC’s Election Supporting Technology Evaluation Program (ESTEP) is responsible for establishing requirements and guidelines specific to election technologies that are not covered under the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG), which includes electronic poll books (EPBs), electronic ballot delivery (EBD) systems, election night reporting (ENR) systems, and voter registration (VR) systems. This program was formally adopted by EAC Commissioners on December 4, 2023. ESTEP aims to create draft standards that can be used by voting system test laboratories (VSTLs) or other testing partners, administer pilot and certification test campaigns, and report on the findings of these campaigns.
Featured ESTEP Resources
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Field Services Program (FSP)
The EAC’s Field Services Program (FSP) is derived from the EAC’s Voting System Testing & Certification Program’s Quality Monitoring Program (QMP), where the agency is positioned to assist states and local jurisdictions in the verification of EAC certified fielded systems on an ongoing basis. To best accomplish this, the FSP team has a deployable, full-time staff of subject matter experts to proactively provide a combination of virtual and onsite services and training to help officials.
Featured FSP Resources
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