# Presentation: 914661

## EAC Voting EquipmentConformity Assessment System

- (Comparison with similar product approval schemes)

**Presented by: Art Wall**

**Notes:**
This presentation is intended to provide testimony to the Election Assistance Commission in Denver, Colorado on August 23, 2005 by comparing the proposed EAC certification program with a similar product approval mandated by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.  The author recently retired from the FCC as Deputy Chief of the FCC Laboratory.  It will show that the EAC proposed system is comparable to other private sector and government conformity assessment systems.

## Introduction

**Conformity assessment terms **
**Conformity assessment guides and standards **
**EAC conformity assessment program**
**Similarities of EAC and FCC certification programs**
**Value of inputs from all stake-holders – manufacturers, labs, certifications, public and state and local governments.**
**Enforcement and insuring compliance**
**Conclusions and additional thoughts**

## Conformity Assessment Terms

_**Certification**_** – *****a****** ******third party conformity assessment activity that is performed by a person or body that is independent of a person or organization that provides that object ...***
_**Accredited Laboratory**_** *****-- a conformity******assessment body that is determine competent through accreditation to test equipment to a specified standard(s)***** *****(In some instances, a regulatory authority or specifier may place additional requirements on an accredited laboratory)***
_**Certification Body**_** *****-- a conformity assessment body designated or determined competent to evaluate test data and other specified information and compares it with the appropriate regulations, policies, interpretations, etc. to determine compliance of equipment subject to certification***
** **

**Notes:**
The above are loose definitions of the terms in ISO Standard 17000 – Conformity Assessment Vocabulary and General Principals

## Conformity Assessment  guides/standards

_**ISO/IEC Standard 17025**_** -- General requirements for the operation and recognition of calibration and testing laboratory **
**ISO/IEC Guide 58 -- General requirements for the operation and recognition of calibration and testing laboratory accreditation systems**
**ISO/IEC Standard 17011 -- General requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment (certification) bodies**
**ISO/IEC Guide 61 -- General requirements for assessment and accreditation of certification/registration bodies**
**ISO/IEC Standard 17024 – General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons**

**Notes:**
Guide 65 for accrediting and operating certification bodies is being replaced by ISO standard 17011

## EAC Certification Program -- Key Elements

**Test laboratory accredited by NIST to ISO Guide 17025 and the EAC as Voting System Test Laboratories**
**Vendor registered with EAC**
**Test Plan submitted to EAC for approval**
**Voting system submitted to recognized test lab for testing to show compliance V.S. 2005 Guidelines**
**Application and test report submitted to EAC for reviewed by Technical Review team and approval**
**Upon successful review, EAC certifies Voting System and published list of approved systems.**
**Quality systems established, which includes audits, to ensure that the voting system sold is representative of the system certified by EAC.**

## Federal Communications Commission

**The FCC is an independent regulatory agency created by the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, to regulate the radio and wire lined communications in the public interest.**
- Mandatory and voluntary standards have been adopted by the FCC to ensure efficient use of the radio spectrum.
- An equipment authorization (conformity assessment) system was adopted to ensure compliance with the standards before the equipment can be legally marketed in the U.S.

## EMC Environment

**Notes:**
The list of equipment and standards is very broad, although most equipment is subject minimum operating requirement and/or self-approval.   Only transmitters are subject to certification by the FCC.

## FCC Regulations(Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations)

**FCC Rules Specify:**
- Technical Regulations
- Test Methods
- Conformity Assessment Requirements
- Marketing requirements

**FCC**
**Rules**

***Non-compliant***
***equipment***

## FCC Equipment Authorization Program

**(Self-approval)****     **

**Certification**
** ****(Approved by FCC  **
**or TCB)**

**DoC**
**(Self-approval using**
**an accredited lab)**

***The type of approval ***
***is specified in the rules***
***for the particular ***
***type of device***

**SDoC**
**(Self-approval**
**Database by ACTA)**

**Transmitters are the only equipment subject to Certification**

**Notes:**
A Telecommunication Certification Body (TCB) is a private sector body accredited to ISO Guide 65 by ANSI and designated by the FCC to approve equipment subject to certification.

## FCC Certification Process

- Prepare Test Report and Application

- Submit Application to TCB

- Submit Application to FCC

- F
- C
- C
- G
- R
- A
- N
- T

- Label Product and Instructions in User Manual

- Market Product

- Test and Evaluate Product to Determine Compliance

## FCC Certification – key elements

**The equipment standard and test process must be specified**
**The equipment must be tested by an laboratory accredited (in most cases) to ISO Standard 17025**
**The test report and application must be submitted to the FCC (or designated TCB) for approval.**
**A grant of certification is issued by the FCC.**
**Follow-up audits are performed to ensure continued compliance and appropriate enforcement action is taken, if necessary.**

## Conclusion

***A comparison of the key elements of the EAC and FCC certification systems show that they are very similar.***
***A key element in the development of any certification system should include the participation of all stakeholders, which for Voting Systems include: vendors, test laboratories, NIST, State voting authorities, etc. ***
***A system for disseminating information is considered essential.***
***A system for determining continued compliance is also considered essential.***

**Notes:**
While there are some differences by the EAC and FCC certification systems, the major issues and procedures are the essentially the same.  Both systems are development in the open with public input and guidance.  
The following are additional thoughts and guidance that the Commission may want to considered in developing its program: 
 A key element of the EAC certification program is the use of Technical Reviewers to review and evaluate the efficiency of Voting Systems.  Sufficient training and time should be allocated to develop a group of 8-10 Technical Reviewers.  Meetings of the Technical Reviewers and EAC staff should be held on a regular basis to ensure consistency of results.
 To ensure that the voting systems marketed are the same as the unit tested and certified, require the manufacturer to have a plan in place to ensure reliability and consistency of the products marketed based on the unit tested and certified.
 Have the States or Technical Reviewers field test at least one system from each manufacturer against the unit certified.
 To help the states and local municipalities, it may be helpful if EAC require the manufacturer to include in the application a series of simple tests to assist the end user in determining the efficiency of the voting system.
 Voting systems users should be encourage to file reports with the EAC on how the machines are functioning in the field.  Reports should be taken seriously and audits should be performed, if warranted.
 Actions to correct field problems can be taken in a number of different ways:  
 allow manufacturer to correct field problems;
 remove manufacturer from EAC vendor list;
 issue EAC notice of non-conformity; or
 revoke certification as a last resort.