TGDC Meeting, July 2011

Overview of July TGDC Meeting 

Belinda L. Collins, Ph.D.

Senior Advisor, Voting Standards, ITL

http://vote.nist.gov 

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TGDC Meeting, July 2011

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Overview of Meeting
        - Introduction
        - Focus on UOCAVA activities
        - Updates from FVAP and EAC
        - UOCAVA working group
        - High-level guidelines
        - Applications Working Group
        - Common Data Format
        - Focus on HAVA activities
        - Roadmaps for VVSG 1.1 and 2.0
        - Research activities

TGDC Meeting, July 2011

Resolutions - Overview 
        - The TGDC debated several resolutions to move its work forward
        - Several simply transmitted documents to EAC (UOCAVA pilot projects, usability and accessibility, auditability)
        - One addressed UOCAVA demonstration project guidelines
        - Two dealt with clarifications on accessibility requirements

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TGDC Meeting, July 2011

Resolution #01-11

White paper on “Possible UOCAVA Pilot Projects for the 2012 and 2014 Federal Election ”

The TGDC accepts the whitepaper titled “Possible UOCAVA Pilot Projects for the 2012 Federal Election” for transmittal to the Election Assistance Commission and Federal Voting Assistance Program.

This whitepaper responds to the request in the “Report to Congress on EAC’s Efforts to Establish Guidelines for Remote Electronic Absentee Voting Systems” for the TGDC to develop supporting material for 2012 UOCAVA pilot projects.

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TGDC Meeting, July 2011

Resolution #02-11  

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Demonstration project guidelines

The TGDC directs the UOCAVA working group to prepare a narrative risk assessment comparing the current UOCAVA voting process to electronic absentee voting systems used in a demonstration project with military voters. 

The TGDC directs the UOCAVA working group to develop high-level guidelines taking into account existing risks already accepted in the current UOCAVA voting system.

TGDC Meeting, July 2011

Resolution #02-11(Continued)

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The TGDC directs the UOCAVA working group to focus on guidelines for a demonstration project for military voters only.  The working group should assume voters will have a Common Access Card and access to professionally-administered systems with appropriate accommodations.  The working group should also assume that voters will be choosing between this method and other methods currently available to UOCAVA voters.  While  guidelines should be scoped for a demonstration project for military voters only, consideration should be given to the ability to extend the guidelines to a broader segment of the UOCAVA voting population.

The Federal Voting Assistance Program shall be invited to participate in these efforts.

TGDC Meeting, July 2011

Resolution #03-11

White paper on “Accessibility and Usability Considerations for UOCAVA Remote Electronic Voting Systems”

The TGDC accepts the white paper titled “Accessibility and Usability Considerations for UOCAVA Remote Electronic Voting Systems” for transmittal to the Election Assistance Commission. 

This paper responds to the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) resolution requesting that the National Institute of Standards and Technology conduct a short-term (several months) research study on accessibility and usability considerations for remote electronic Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Rights Act (UOCAVA) voting similar to the research document on "Security Considerations for Remote Electronic UOCAVA Voting.

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TGDC Meeting, July 2011

Resolution  #04-11

White paper on auditability

The TGDC accepts the white paper titled “Report of the Auditability Working Group rev. 2010-12-02” for transmittal to the Election Assistance Commission.

This whitepaper responds to the TGDC resolution of July 8, 2010 and the EAC’s tasking of December 9, 2009 titled “Alternatives to Software Independence (SI).”

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TGDC Meeting, July 2011

Resolution #05-11

White paper on “VVSG 2.0 and Beyond: Issues and Gaps in the Usability and Accessibility Requirements”

The TGDC accepts the white paper titled “VVSG 2.0 and Beyond: Issues and Gaps in the Usability and Accessibility Requirements” for transmittal to the Election Assistance Commission. 

This paper responds to the directive of the Election Assistance Commission to the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) Usability and Accessibility Working Group to continue ongoing research and requirements updates the VVSG 2.0 to the usability performance benchmarks already contained in the draft version of VVSG 2.0. Because the usability and accessibility requirements work together and cannot necessarily be isolated and analyzed as individual requirements, the Working Group identified research gaps that apply not just to the performance benchmarks but across the set of usability and accessibility requirements in the draft version of VVSG 2.0.

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TGDC Meeting, July 2011

Resolution #06-11

Accessibility of voter-verifiable paper ballots 

To conform to HAVA Section 301 , the TGDC identifies the following accessibility principles that should be used to guide recommendations for revisions to the VVSG.

1.  An accessible voting system must provide mechanisms for private and independent voting in all three phases of the voting process – generating a ballot, verifying the vote selections of that ballot, and casting the ballot -- regardless of the format of the ballot.

2.  Accessibility requirements must not be lessened because the ballot format is paper and individuals with disabilities should not experience a decrease in their ability to vote privately and independently because of the use of a paper ballot.  

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TGDC Meeting, July 2011

Resolution #06-11 (Continued)

Accessibility of voter-verifiable paper ballots 

3.  A determinative vote record is an official ballot of record or controlling record used in a recount, and must be accessible. (affirms the decision of the EAC in adopting the VVSG in 2005).

a. If a determinative record paper ballot is voter-verifiable, the accessible voting system must enable a voter with a disability to verify the vote selections on the paper ballot through the same access modalities as were used to mark the vote selections (affirms Board of Advisors Resolution). 

 b. A voter with a disability must not be required to manually handle a determinative record paper ballot in order to mark, verify or cast the ballot (affirms the decision of the EAC in adopting the VVSG in 2005).  

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TGDC Meeting, July 2011

Resolution #07-11

Accessibility requirements for voting systems used outside of a polling place

The TGDC recommends to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) that it provide clarification on the scope of our accessibility mandate and provide direction to the TGDC to develop technical requirements for accessibility of voting systems used outside of a polling place.

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TGDC Meeting, July 2011

Discussion/Questions

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