Public Hearing: EAC Standards Board Annual Meeting | U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Start Time
Friday, July 31, 2020 1:30 PM

End Time
Friday, July 31, 2020 4:30 PM

Virtual via Zoom

The hearing was open to the public and livestreamed on the U.S. Election Assistance Commission YouTube Channel.

Purpose:

In accordance with the Government in the Sunshine Act (Sunshine Act), Public Law 94-409, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552b), the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) conducted a virtual annual meeting of the EAC Standards Board to discuss the proposed Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) 2.0 Requirements as submitted by the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC).

Agenda:

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) Standards Board held their 2020 Annual Meeting primarily to discuss the proposed VVSG 2.0 Requirements. This meeting included a question and answer discussion between board members. Staff from NIST and the EAC was available to answer questions and provided information on the VVSG process and the proposed VVSG 2.0 Requirements.

Board members reviewed FACA Board membership guidelines and policies with EAC General Counsel and received a general update about the EAC from the Executive Director. The Board also elected a new member to the Executive Board Committee and consider amendments to the Bylaws of the Standards Board.

Background:

The VVSG 2.0 Requirements were published for a 90-day public comment period that concluded on June 22, 2020. The first VVSG public hearing on March 27, 2020 covered an introduction to the VVSG process as well a high-level overview of the proposed VVSG 2.0 requirements. A recording of the hearing is available on the EAC’s website. The second public hearing on May 6, 2020 addressed the importance of VVSG 2.0 at the state and local level, and the consideration of accessibility and security in VVSG 2.0. A recording of the second hearing is available on the EAC’s website. The third public hearing on May 20, 2020 included discussions with voting system manufacturers and voting system testing labs. A recording of the third hearing is available on the EAC’s website. The EAC Board of Advisors held their annual meeting to discuss the VVSG 2.0 on June 16, 2020. A recording of the hearing is available on the EAC’s website.

The TGDC unanimously approved to recommend VVSG 2.0 Requirements on February 7, 2020, and sent the Requirements to the then EAC Acting Executive Director via the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in the capacity of the Chair of the TGDC on March 9, 2020. Upon adoption, the VVSG 2.0 would become the fifth iteration of national level voting system standards. The Federal Election Commission published the first two sets of federal standards in 1990 and 2002. The EAC then adopted Version 1.0 of the VVSG on December 13, 2005. In an effort to update and improve version 1.0 of the VVSG, on March 31, 2015, the EAC commissioners unanimously approved VVSG 1.1.