EAC Certification Program Manual requires, as a condition of registration, that each manufacturer provide the EAC with a “list of all manufacturing and/or assembly facilities used by the manufacturer.”(Section 2.3.1.7 of the EAC Voting System Testing and Certification Program Manual). For the purposes of Section 2.3.1.7, “manufacturing and/or assembly facilities” applies to facilities that provide the following manufacturing services: 1. Final system configuration and loading of programs for customer delivery. 2. Manufacturing of component units of a voting system. 3. Manufacturing of major sub-assemblies of the voting system.

The EAC seeks to encourage concurrent state and Federal testing. This policy will serve to lower overall testing costs by promoting state use of EAC accredited laboratories to conduct the more expensive and time consuming State testing requirements. These requirements could include items such as volume testing, any State specific environmental testing, and other State specific functionality testing. When states authorize a VSTL to perform concurrent testing, they are responsible for monitoring these testing procedures as they would if the testing was being conducted by the State itself. Additionally, the State remains responsible for State certification actions based upon the outcome of testing conducted by a VSTL. Concurrent state testing is not subject to EAC Certification or oversight.

When a VSTL considers doing business outside the certification context, it must consider the implications of such a decision in light of the prohibitions related to conflicts of interest and prohibited practices. VSTL’s may not test voting systems if they have a conflict of interest between their responsibilities under the certification program and their financial interests. Having an outside contractual or fiduciary relationship with a manufacture whose product the VSTL is responsible for testing under EAC’s Certification program is a conflict of interest. VSTLs must also be cognizant of the impact of prohibited practices. A laboratory may not be involved in both the development of a voting system and the certification of a system. Voting system development includes any testing, consultation or design work performed in order to ready a system for the market place or the certification process. Generally, any testing performed on behalf of a voting system manufacture that was not otherwise performed pursuant to an EAC certification will be considered developmental. When a VSTL is involved with the development of a voting system, it is prohibited from future testing of that system under EAC Program.

The EAC finds that based upon the language of Section 4.3 of the VSTCM a manufacturer must submit a certification application prior to conducting any certification testing. Any testing occurring after the execution of a contract or agreement for certification testing between a Voting System Test Laboratory and a registered manufacturer is presumed to be certification testing.