U. S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION VOTING SYSTEM TESTING AND CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

 1201 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 300 

 Washington, DC. 20005 

Sent Via Electronic Mail 

April 1, 2010 

Dear Registered Manufacturer, 

I am writing this letter as a simple reminder to all manufacturers about some of our program 

requirements that may have been forgotten in the frantic work over the past year or so to get your 

systems tested and certified at both the Federal and State levels. As you know, getting a system tested 

and certified is only a part of our overall conformity assessment program. Continued reporting and 

updating of information by manufacturers and the EAC quality monitoring program are also key 

elements that will be especially useful as we move forward to implement the full spectrum of our 

program. 

As we move forward with our work in preparation for the 2010 elections please remember that your 

responsibilities under Section 2 of the Testing and Certification Program Manual (Manual) include 

keeping the EAC up to date on any changes to the information provided in your manufacturer 

registration package. Of particular interest this year are any changes to the information reported under 

Subsection 2.3.1.7: 

A list of all manufacturing and/or assembly facilities used by the Manufacturer and the 

name and contact information of a person at each facility. The following information is 

required for a person at each facility: 

2.3.1.7.1. Name and title. 

2.3.1.7.2. Mailing and physical addresses. 

2.3.1.7.3. Telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address. 

This information is critically important this year because the EAC will very shortly begin the first in 

its series of manufacturing site reviews as required by Section 8.5 of the Manual. You may recall that 

this section requires the EAC, at a minimum, to review at least one manufacturing facility of a 

registered Manufacturer once every 4 years. I have included the specific requirements from our 

Manual below for your convenience. 

8.5.3. The Review. The production facility and production test records must be made available for 

review. When requested, production schedules must be provided to the EAC. Production or 

production testing may be witnessed by EAC representatives. If equipment is not being 

produced during the inspection, the review may be limited to production records. During 

the inspection, the Manufacturer must make available to the EAC representative the 

Manufacturer’s quality manual and other documentation sufficient to enable the inspector 

to evaluate the following factors of the facility’s production: 

8.5.3.1. Manufacturing quality controls. 

8.5.3.2. Final inspection and testing. 
8.5.3.3. History of deficiencies or anomalies and corrective actions taken. 

8.5.3.4. Equipment calibration and maintenance. 

8.5.3.5. Corrective action program. 

8.5.3.6. Policies on product labeling and the application of the EAC mark of certification. 

8.5.4. Exit Briefing. Site reviewers will provide the manufacturing facility representative a verbal 

exit briefing regarding the preliminary observations of the review. 

8.5.5. Written Report. A written report documenting the review will be drafted by the EAC 

representative and provided to the Manufacturer. The report will detail the findings of the 

review and identify actions that are required to correct any deficiencies. 

The EAC will notify each manufacturer of the dates and locations of these site reviews. Initially we 

will concentrate on those manufacturers who currently have EAC certification for one of their voting 

systems. Manufacturers with certified systems will be notified of the dates and locations of these site 

reviews within the next several weeks. 

Finally, because this is a Federal election year, I wanted to remind you of your obligations under 

subsection 2.3.2.7 of our Manual to: 

Report to the Program Director any known malfunction of a voting system holding an EAC 

Certification. A malfunction is a failure of a voting system, not caused solely by operator or 

administrative error, which causes the system to cease operation during a Federal election 

or otherwise results in data loss. Malfunction notifications should be consolidated into one 

report. This report should identify the location, nature, date, impact, and resolution (if any) 

of the malfunction and be filed within 60 days of any Federal election. 

In order to facilitate EAC monitoring of certified voting systems, we ask that EAC manufacturers 

send to the EAC an updated list of all jurisdictions currently using the version or versions or your 

voting system certified by the EAC. 

If you have any additional concerns or questions regarding the information contained in this letter or 

anything else concerning the EAC Testing and Certification Program, please do not hesitate to contact 

me by phone at 202-566-3100, or via email at BHancock@eac.gov

Sincerely 

Brian J. Hancock, Director 

Voting System Testing and Certification