Under the current testing structure, the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) approves independent testing authorities (ITAs) to test voting systems against the performance and test standards previously established by the Federal Election Commission and recently updated by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Upon completion of testing, the ITA provides NASED’s ITA Voting Systems Committee with a written report of the voting system’s performance against the standards. After reviewing the report, the ITA Voting Systems Committee determines whether to issue a qualification number. This qualification number is proof that the voting system has met the performance and test standards and is required by most states - including Maryland - before a voting system can be used in the state.
The Help America Vote Act of 2002 established the U.S. Election Assistance Commission as the federal agency to certify independent testing laboratories and establish voting system standards. To date, NASED continues to certify independent testing laboratories, and the independent testing laboratories will not be testing under the EAC’s recently adopted Voluntary Voting System Standards until December 2007. Under the new structure, the voting systems will be certified – not qualified – by the EAC.
In addition to ITA testing and NASED qualification, a voting system used in Maryland must complete state certification. This is a state testing process to ensure that the voting system meets all of Maryland’s statutory and other voting system requirements.
To be certified, a voting system must:
Every voting unit used in Maryland undergoes a comprehensive, two-part State acceptance test. The first part involves a diagnostic test to ensure that each voting unit and all of its components are performing to the required specifications. The second part involves casting hundreds of votes on each voting unit. A report showing the contest totals is printed from unit and compared against the expected results. This test ensures that the voting unit is accurately recording and counting votes. The results from the voting units are then transferred to the central tabulating computer that counts all the votes from the voting units. This ensures that every vote put onto the voting unit during acceptance testing is counted by the central tabulating computer.
Logic and Accuracy (L & A) testing is the process by which voting equipment is configured, tested and certified for accuracy prior to an election. Each component is tested to verify that it is fully functional and free from mechanical problems and that each voting unit contains the appropriate ballot styles for its designated polling place.
L & A testing includes multiple phases:
Parallel testing is a method of testing an electronic voting unit by producing an independent set of results that can be compared against the results produced by the voting unit and is cited as a best practice by election administration and computer experts.
During parallel testing, two individuals read aloud the votes cast on a paper ballot. Two people separately record the votes cast on paper, and two people cast the votes on a touchscreen voting unit. The teams periodically check to ensure that the two hand-tallies match and that the number of ballots cast match. At the conclusion of parallel testing, the two sets of hand-tallies are compared to the results generated by the voting unit. The hand-tallies and the voting unit totals should match.
In Maryland, parallel testing is conducted two times for each election. Parallel testing is first conducted in each county during the pre-election public demonstration and also on Election Day from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
In 2004, fifty ballots were cast and counted during the pre-election parallel testing. Each pre-election parallel testing demonstrated the accuracy of the voting system – the hand-tally and the results from the voting unit matched. In Election Day, over 1,300 votes were cast during parallel testing. One unplanned test of the voting units occurred when one of the units turned off due to the fact that it was not properly plugged-in. Once the unit was plugged back in, voting resumed. The unit did not lose any votes and its tally was 100% accurate, demonstrating the ability of these voting units to maintain votes despite a power failure or other disruption. The vote totals and hand-tallies for the remaining units also matched.
This kind of testing confirms the accuracy of the voting unit in recording and tabulating votes. Given the fact that every voting unit in the State uses the exact same software, voters in Maryland can be confident that their votes are accurately counted.
After each election, local boards of election verify that the vote totals printed from the individual voting units match the reports generated by the central tabulator. This manual verification of designated number of precincts validates that the central tabulator correctly added the results from each voting unit.
While the voting unit verification is being conducted, the local boards of election also conduct a post-election audit to confirm the accuracy of the polling place reports. This includes auditing signed voter authority cards, precinct registers, other polling place forms completed by the election judges, and the official election results.
If a discrepancy is found during the verification or the post-election audit, the local board continues its audit until it determines the cause of the discrepancy.