FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Silver Spring, Md. - The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) today announced that Votem Corporation has been officially registered to participate in the commission's Voting System Testing & Certification Program. The designation follows an EAC determination that the Cleveland, Ohio-based company meets all of the requirements noted in its certification Program Manual. Votem Corporation is now permitted to submit voting systems for EAC examination and certification.
"Competition drives innovation in any industry, including elections," said Brian Hancock, Director of the EAC's Testing and Certification Program. "We welcome Votem Corporation to our list of registered voting equipment manufacturers and look forward to working with the company and seeing their new line of products."
Votem Corporation is the 18th election manufacturer registered to participate in the testing and certification program, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. The Testing and Certification program was a requirement of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, legislation that created the EAC and mandated that the commission provide certification, decertification, and recertification of voting systems, as well as the accreditation of voting system testing laboratories. This legislation marked the first time the federal government funded these activities, a step that allowed states to procure new certified voting systems without the added expense of independent testing and certification.
The EAC is currently partnering with a diverse working group comprised of representatives from the election community, public sector, private sector and interest groups to develop the next iteration of the election system testing and certification guidelines, VVSG 2.0. Next month on September 11-12, the Technical Guidelines and Development Committee (TGDC) is set to meet in Silver Spring, Md. to vote on whether to adopt the VVSG 2.0, guidelines rooted in a set of 17 core voting system functions that were adopted by TGDC earlier this year. The new system testing guidelines are expected to be released in 2018 and will become the highest standard against which voting systems can be commercially tested in the United States.
For more information about today's announcement or next month's TGDC meeting, please contact Brenda Bowser Soder at 202-897-9285 or [email protected].
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The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) was established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). It is an independent, bipartisan commission charged with ensuring secure, accurate and accessible elections by developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and serving as a national clearinghouse of information on election administration. EAC also accredits testing laboratories and certifies voting systems, as well as administers the use of HAVA funds. For more information, visit www.eac.gov.