U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, July 9, 2004

Resolution #01-04, Offered by: Dr. Harding 

Three subcommittees shall be established to gather and analyze information. Subcommittees shall be 

comprised only of TGDC members. Subcommittees shall propose resolutions to the TGDC on best 

practices, specifications and standards. Subcommittees shall be named: 

i) Security and Transparency, 

ii) Human Factors and Privacy, and 

iii) Core Requirements and Testing. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #01-04: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, July 9, 2004

Resolution #02-04, Offered by: Mr. Berger 

The Chair shall survey the interest of TGDC members, and thereafter appoint the members and chairs 

of the subcommittees. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #02-04: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, July 9, 2004

Resolution #03-04, Offered by: Dr. Harding 

Resolutions prepared by the subcommittees shall be considered by the TGDC. Resolutions adopted 

by the TGDC shall be referred to NIST for technical assistance and editing. Upon return from NIST, 

the TGDC shall review the resolutions to confirm they conform to its intent. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #03-04: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, July 9, 2004

Resolution #04-04, Offered by: Ms. Davidson 

 

Adopted resolutions and appropriate explanatory materials comprise the “first set of 

recommendations” mandated by the Help America Vote Act. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #04-04: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, July 9, 2004

Resolution #05-04, Offered by: Mr. Craft 

The TGDC shall recommend to the EAC that they expedite making currently certified voting 

software available to the National Software Reference Library as soon as possible. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #05-04: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005 

Resolution #01-05, Offered by: Ms. Quesenbery 

Title: Work Product Instructions to Staff of National Institute for Standards and 

 Technology (NIST) 

The TGDC intends to consider and adopt resolutions during its January 18 and 19, 2005 meeting. 

Each resolution will make certain findings or conclusions. The resolutions will also request specific 

technical assistance from NIST. 

At the conclusion of the meeting, the TGDC Chair will sort the adopted resolutions by priority. 

Priority is to be given to resolutions and requests for technical support that can result in work product 

that will form a part of the April initial recommendations of the TGDC. 

Generally, NIST staff members with subject matter expertise will be instructed by the TGDC Chair 

and his designates to conduct further research and inquiry, gather and evaluate existing standards or 

standards-like materials which apply to the resolution, and revise such materials or draft new 

standards or standards-like materials. In many cases, there may be few existing standards materials 

related to a resolution. In those instances, NIST staff is generally instructed to gather, review, revise, 

or write relevant standards-related materials. The NIST technical assistance work product will be 

categorized as pre-decisional materials, and should be provided directly to members of the TGDC for 

their review. 

If, in the course of providing technical assistance, NIST staff discovers significant errors in an 

adopted resolution or otherwise concludes that to continue providing technical assistance is unwise, 

technical assistance should be temporarily halted. Such reasons to halt technical assistance may also 

include discovery that a requested task is technically infeasible, or that the scope of the request 

exceeds the capabilities or legal authorities of NIST. NIST shall immediately bring the matter to the 

attention to the TGDC Chair, who will consult with the sponsor of the resolution and the Chair of the 

applicable subcommittee. If the TGDC Chair, subcommittee Chair and resolution sponsor agree that 

the request for technical assistance to NIST should be revised, they shall have authority to do so. In 

such cases, a new or revised request for technical assistance shall be issued to NIST in writing, with 

copies to all TGDC members. In such cases, the sponsor of the relevant adopted resolution shall 

examine whether the adopted resolution should be reconsidered or revised during a subsequent 

meeting of the TGDC. If so, the parliamentarian should be consulted to draft the appropriate 

resolution materials. 

If, in the course of providing technical assistance, NIST staff discovers an alternative approach that 

logically fits into the scope of an adopted resolution, NIST staff may develop and present the 

alternate approach. In such cases, NIST staff shall also provide the technical assistance specified in 

the resolution. 
If, in the course of providing technical assistance, NIST staff discovers duplicative or conflicting 

resolution findings or requests for technical assistance, the TGDC Chair shall be consulted. In such 

instances, the TGDC Chair shall consult the Chair of the applicable subcommittee and the sponsor of 

the resolution(s) for clarification. The Chair shall then issue a new written request for technical 

assistance to NIST and provide copies to TGDC members. 

During subsequent meetings of the TGDC, members of the TGDC may consider, amend and adopt 

the technical assistance work product. Such adopted technical assistance work product will be 

appended to the appropriate resolution, and will form a portion of the initial recommendations to the 

Election Assistance Commission. 

All work products to be considered by NIST shall be received no later than five working days prior to 

public meetings by members of the TGDC prior to consideration. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #01-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005 

Resolution #02-05, Offered by: Ms. Quesenbery 

Title: Accessible Voting Systems 

 

The TGDC has concluded that standards for voting systems should include requirements for 

accessibility that meet the HAVA requirement for accessible voting by incorporating the latest 

available accessible technology. Further, the TGDC directs NIST to research and draft standards 

based on, but not limited to, existing requirements from the VSS 2002, IEEE P1583 draft 5.3.2a, 

ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), 36 CFR Part 1194 (section 508) and other relevant usability 

and accessibility guidelines and federal laws and regulations in order to develop future accessibility 

requirements for voting systems. 

 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #02-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution #03-05, Offered by: Ms. Quesenbery 

 Title: Human Factors and Privacy of Voting Systems at the Polling Place 

The TGDC has considered the issue of what is required to ensure both access to the voting system by 

voters with disabilities, and usability and privacy for all voters. It has concluded that usability, 

accessibility, and privacy are functions of both the system used to vote and the environment of the 

polling place. The TGDC directs NIST to research and draft guidance on the deployment and 

configuration of systems in the polling place to ensure usability, accessibility, and privacy. These 

guidelines should be combined with the accessibility standards described in Resolution #02-05 or the 

standards described in Resolution #04-05. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #03-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution #04-05, Offered by: Ms. Quesenbery 

Title: Human Factors and Privacy Requirements for Capturing Indication of a Voter’s Choice 

The TGDC recognized the need for voting system requirements to include human factors and privacy 

requirements for capturing indication of a voter's choice based on current research. These 

requirements should be specified so that systems can be evaluated for meeting the requirements. 

Unclear specifications, such as “intuitive”, “unambiguous”, or “meaningful” should be avoided. 

Further, performance-based standards are preferred over specific design standards, because 

performance standards address the total effectiveness of the system more directly than do design 

standards and typically they are not technology specific. The TGDC directs NIST to: 

1. Create an outline of the human factors and privacy requirements related to capturing 

indication of a voter's choice, 

2. Write draft human factors and privacy standards based on this outline by using existing 

requirements from the VSS2002, IEEE P1583 draft 5.3.2a, ADA Accessibility Guidelines 

(ADAAG), 36 CFR Part 1194 (section 508) 

 and other relevant usability and accessibility guidelines and regulations, 

3. Identify areas where further requirements development for capturing indication of a voter's 

choice is needed, noting when performance-based usability standards are possible, and 

4. Write all requirements so that they are testable and the tests themselves can be conducted 

either by inspection by a person with reasonable knowledge of systems, user interface design, 

and accessibility or by performance-based usability tests with clear, repeatable protocols.

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #04-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution #05-05, Offered by: Ms. Quesenbery 

Title: Human Performance-Based Standards and Usability Testing 

The TGDC has concluded that voting systems requirements should be based, wherever possible, on 

human performance benchmarks for efficiency, accuracy or effectiveness, and voter confidence or 

satisfaction. This conclusion is based, in part, on the analysis in the NIST Report, Improving the 

Usability and Accessibility of Voting Systems and Products (NIST Special Publication 500-256). 

Performance requirements should be preferred over design requirements. They should focus on the 

performance of the interface or interaction, rather than on the implementation details. When it is not 

possible to specify performance requirements (whether because conformance tests cannot be 

formulated or because they would be too onerous to implement), testable, implementation-neutral 

design requirements should be used. Conformance tests for performance requirements should be 

based on human performance tests conducted with human voters as the test participants. The TGDC 

also recognizes that this is a new approach to the development of usability standards for voting 

systems and will require some research to develop the human performance benchmarks and the test 

protocols. Therefore, the TGDC directs NIST to: 

1. Create a roadmap for developing performance-based standards, based on the preliminary 

work done for drafting the standards described in Resolution # 4-05, 

2. Develop human performance metrics for efficiency, accuracy, and voter satisfaction, 

3. Develop the performance benchmarks based on human performance data gathered from 

measuring current state-of-the-art technology, 

4. Develop a conformance test protocol for usability measurement of the benchmarks, 

5. Validate the test protocol, and 

6. Document test protocol and benchmarks so that an independent test laboratory can reproduce 

the testing. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #05-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution #06-05, Offered by: Ms. Quesenbery 

Title: Accommodating a Wide Range of Human Abilities 

The TGDC recognizes that there is a wide range of human abilities. The voting population includes 

not only people with specifically identified disabilities but also the aging population, language 

minorities, and people with other special needs. A goal of voting system standards should be to 

accommodate, as much as possible, this wide range of abilities to ensure the greatest usability and 

accessibility of those systems. This approach is sometimes called “universal design” or “universal 

usability.” In drafting standards, the TGDC directs NIST to: 

1. Consider what accommodations to voter abilities can be included in the standards for all 

voting systems, using currently available technology, and 

2. Develop principles for “universal design” based on existing best practices and other 

guidelines or standards such as 36 CFR 1194 (Section 508), to guide future standards 

development to aid in updating the voting system standards. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #06-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution #08-05, Offered by: Ms. Quesenbery 

Title: Usability Guidance for Instructions, Ballot Design, and Error Messages 

The TGDC has considered the issue of what is required to improve usability and reduce errors for 

capturing indication of a voter's choice. It has concluded that usability is a function of the machine 

used to vote as well as other characteristics of the voting system such as the instructions for voters 

and poll workers, ballot design, and machine error and help messages. Research and best practices in 

the areas of plain language design, form design, and usability are potentially relevant to such voting 

system characteristics. The TGDC directs NIST to research and draft guidelines and standards where 

possible to improve the usability of instructions, ballot design, and error and help messages in all 

formats used. These guidelines should be combined with the standards described in Resolution # 4-

05. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #08-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution #09-05, Offered by: Ms. Quesenbery 

Title: General Voting System Human Factors and Privacy Considerations 

Errors in the voting process are due to human error and the TGDC notes many examples from recent 

elections to support this statement. While requirements for capturing indication of a voter's choice is 

the primary area for human factors and privacy standards development, the TGDC recognizes that all 

proposed requirements that involve human interaction with the voting system should address any 

possible human factors and privacy implications. Therefore, the TGDC directs NIST to review all 

proposed requirements, assess which requirements involve user interaction, and perform the 

evaluation or research needed to ensure that basic usability, accessibility, and privacy is maintained 

when these requirements are applied to a voting system. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #09-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution # 10-05, Offered by: Ms. Quesenbery 

Title: Usability of the Standards 

 

The TGDC recognizes the importance of the usability of the voting systems standards. Independent 

testing laboratories, election officials, and vendors need to understand these standards and also 

understand how a system is tested for conformance to the standards in order to have confidence in 

voting systems that pass the conformance tests. Therefore, to the extent possible, the voting system 

standards should be written in plain language, understandable by both test experts and by voting 

officials who are not experts in human factors or design. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #10-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution # 11-05, Offered by: Ms. Quesenbery 

Title: Availability of Voting Machines for Validating Benchmarks and Conformance Test Protocols 

The TGDC is aware that the definition and validation of human performance benchmarks and human 

performance test protocols as described in the NIST Report, Improving the Usability and 

Accessibility of Voting Systems and Products (Special Publication 500-256), requires testing on a set 

of typical, state-of-the-art voting machines. The TGDC directs NIST to work with the EAC to 

determine a means to acquire such voting machines and then make them available to enable NIST to 

perform the work described in Resolution #05-05. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #11-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution #12- 05, Offered by: Dr. Rivest 

Title: Voter Verifiability I 

The TGDC has considered the various means by which a voting system allows a voter to verify that 

his or her vote was captured as the indication of the voter's choice. All voting systems must provide 

such means, as stated in HAVA 2002 section 301(a)(1)(A)(i). Such voter verification means can be 

categorized as either "direct,” as with optical scan or a machine-generated paper ballot, where the 

voter can directly examine the representation of his ballot, or "indirect,” as with many touch-screen 

Direct Recording Electronic-- DRE machines, where the voter can only verify the “fundamental 

representation” of his ballot through the assistance of intervening hardware and/or software. 

For voting systems that create more than one representation of the voter's ballot (such as one 

electronic and one on paper), the TGDC interprets the HAVA language to require that such voter 

verification must apply to the representation (to be called here the fundamental representation) that is 

used for the initial vote tabulation. 

The TGDC therefore finds it useful to divide voting systems into two categories: those (class DV) 

where each voter is presented a fundamental representation of his ballot that the voter may directly 

verify, and those (class IV) not in class DV. 

The TGDC has concluded that voting systems in class IV or DV must be held to significantly 

different security requirements, including different constraints on voting system development, 

different requirements for system documentation, and different testing to mitigate the different risks 

associated with each type of voting system. 

The TGDC therefore requests that NIST perform research and develop standards documents that: 

 1. Clarifies the distinction between class DV and class IV voting systems as may be necessary, 

 2. Elaborates and defines the different requirements to be satisfied by class DV and IV voting 

systems, and 

 3. Reviews methods of verification accessible by voters with disabilities. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #12-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005 

Resolution # 14-05, Offered by: Dr. Rivest 

Title: Commercial Off-The-Shelf Software ("COTS Software") 

The TGDC has considered the advisability of using Commercial Off-The-Shelf Software ("COTS 

Software") within voting systems, from a security perspective. It has concluded that, generally 

speaking, the use of COTS software introduces excessive and unnecessary risk and should be 

avoided, while specific well-motivated exceptions to this rule may be required upon occasion. The 

TGDC directs NIST to research and draft standards documents requiring: 

1. That the use of COTS software within voting systems is not allowed unless it meets specific 

exceptional conditions, and 

2. That the criteria for exceptions shall be drafted by NIST. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #14-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution # 15-05, Offered by: Dr. Rivest 

Title: Software Distribution 

The TGDC has concluded that, generally speaking, the manner in which software is loaded onto 

voting systems is not governed by existing standards, and that it is a significant security issue, that 

warrants more stringent controls. It is important to know which software has been installed on a 

voting system, when the software has been installed, and from what sources. Without strict controls 

on these processes, noncertified software could be loaded onto voting systems, with potentially 

disastrous results. The TGDC directs NIST to research and draft standards documents requiring: 

1. That the distribution of any software to voting systems shall only be performed by means of 

physically distributed “read only” or “write once” media, including software such as: 

(a) Operating system required software, 

(b) Updates and patches, 

(c) Data files, and 

(d) Voting system software. 

2. That the electronic transmission of any software to voting machines via networks or wireless 

introduces extreme risk and should be approached with extreme caution, 

3. That the software will include an integrity check (such as a digital signature that positively 

authenticates its source) that must be verified as part of the process of loading the software, 

and 

4. That the record of loading the software will be written permanently to a system audit log kept 

in write-once memory. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #15-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution # 16-05, Offered by: Dr. Rivest 

Title: Setup Validation 

The TGDC has considered the issue of electronic voting machine setup validation and has concluded 

that current standards and practice need substantial improvement in this regard. A setup validation 

method ensures that a voting system contains the authorized software, contains no unauthorized 

software, and is in the proper initial state. The TGDC requests NIST to do research and develop 

standards: 

1. That specify the characteristics of acceptable setup validation methods (such as, for example, 

that the setup validation method may not modify the state of the system nor require the 

execution of any software currently on the system), and 

2. That require each voting system submission to specify an acceptable setup validation method. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #16-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution # 17-05, Offered by: Dr. Rivest 

Title: Testing 

The TGDC directs NIST to research and draft standards documents requiring testing of voting 

systems that includes a significant amount of open-ended research for vulnerabilities by an analysis 

team supplied with complete source code and system documentation and operational voting system 

hardware. The vulnerabilities sought should not exclude those involving collusion between multiple 

parties (including vendor insiders) and should not exclude those involving adversaries with 

significant financial and technical resources. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #17-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution # 18-05, Offered by: Dr. Rivest 

Title: Documentation 

The TGDC has concluded that it is critical to the security of voting systems that they be documented 

thoroughly according to a well-specified set of documentation criteria. Proper documentation is an 

important and essential part of the input for security evaluation. Voting systems that are not well 

documented may also be less secure in that poor specification of features and operation can facilitate 

incorrect operation and improper responses to error conditions and other unexpected events. 

This documentation should address all areas of voting system design, architecture, features, controls, 

and operational modes, and also include recommended management and maintenance procedures. 

The documentation should specify exactly the operational context of the voting system and all 

assumptions made affecting the system and how it is operated. It should include all security 

requirements for operation of the system, including manual, non-computerized procedures. Particular 

attention should be paid to processes and procedures that reduce security vulnerabilities throughout 

the entire voting preparation, balloting, counting and audit phases. 

The TGDC directs NIST to research and draft standards documents requiring voting system 

documentation, to include but not be limited to such items as: 

1. Voting system design information including source code and discussion of built-in or 

procedural protections from NIST Special Publication 800-53 such as for: 

(a) System and information integrity, 

(b) Identification and authentication, 

(c) Access control, 

(d) Audit and accountability, and 

(e) System and communications protection. 

2. Specifications of compatible software or equipment (i.e., operating systems, utilities), 

3. Evaluation-related documentation including: 

(a) Risk assessment information, 

(b) Results of certification, accreditation, and security assessments, and 

(c) Contingency planning recommendations. 

4. Operational procedures including: 

(a) Modes and procedures for each mode, 

(b) Maintenance procedures, 

(c) Media protection and media loading procedures, and 

(d) Recount procedures. 

5. Awareness and training recommendations, 

6. Incident response procedures, and 

7. Other information deemed relevant to a security evaluation of the proposed voting system. 
The issues of [a] redundant representations of ballots created by the voting system and [b] how 

recounts of these ballots are to be handled are particularly important. Voting systems that store 

redundant representations of a cast vote must include, as part of their specification, a detailed 

description of how such representations may be used in counting votes and recounting votes. The 

description must also specify what procedures, if any, may (or must) be used to detect discrepancies 

between the various representations, and how such discrepancies may be resolved. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #18-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution # 21-05, Offered by: Dr. Rivest 

Title: Multiple Representations of Ballots 

Voting systems may create one or more electronic representations of ballots in addition to any paper 

record produced.. For example, three redundant electronic copies may be made, for reliability 

purposes. As another example, the scanning of an op-scan ballot may create another, electronic, 

representation of the ballot. A number of issues are related to the use of multiple representations 

(both electronic and paper) that are in some cases relatively new and not completely identified or 

understood, and in other cases need uniform terminology and procedures. These issues include: 

1. Preventing, detecting, and handling disagreements between the representations, in the rare 

event that they should occur, 

2. Converting between representations, and ensuring that ballots are not multiply converted and 

counted, 

3. Use of multiple representations in fraud analysis, 

4. Authenticity of the representations, 

5. Marking of ballot representations with unique identifiers, (if and when possible to do so while 

preserving voter privacy), and 

6. Conversion to/from standard formats. 

The TGDC has concluded that further research is advisable in identifying potential problems 

associated with voting systems that use multiple representations of ballots, and in identifying best 

approaches for handling such problems. The TGDC thus requests that NIST perform such research 

and draft standards documents that reflect NIST's determination of the best practices and best 

approaches for handling these problems. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #21-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution # 22-05, Offered by: Dr. Rivest 

Title: Federal Standards 

Voting systems, while specialized in their purpose, often have many aspects in common with general 

information technology (IT) systems. Guidelines, standards, and testing programs have been 

developed for U.S. Government civilian IT systems, typically utilizing ANSI-approved and other 

voluntary consensus standards, including the Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP) for 

analysis and testing of cryptographic modules and software, and the National Voluntary Laboratory 

Accreditation Program (NVLAP) for accreditation of testing laboratories. NIST is currently 

creating an information security standard (mandated by the Federal Information Security 

Management Act, specifically, Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems, 

draft NIST Special Publication 800-53) affecting all federal government systems. This draft standard 

specifies the inclusion and proper use of security-related protections affecting many areas of IT 

system design and development, management, testing, and operations -- all of which have relevance 

to voting systems. This and other similar efforts by the U.S. Government have the benefits of having 

been developed in a public process and having had successful track records with industry. 

The TGDC therefore requests that NIST examine existing federal guidelines, standards, and testing 

programs, and ANSI-approved and other voluntary consensus standards for security in general 

information technology systems for their relevance and applicability in standards to voting systems, 

and to draft standards documents that follow such prior guidelines, standards, and programs when 

possible and where appropriate. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #22-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005 

Resolution # 23-05, Offered by: Dr. Rivest 

Title: Common Ballot Format Specifications 

The TGDC has concluded that the adoption of standard formats for election-related information, such 

as ballots (both blank and filled-in), has many positive benefits and is worth pursuing. An example 

of such a standard is OASIS Election Markup Language (EML) Version 4.0, which is an XML-based 

specification. The TGDC therefore requests NIST to do research and develop standards documents: 

1. Specifying what existing election information format standards (or portions thereof or 

variations thereof) are acceptable for use in voting systems, and 

2. Requiring that voting systems use such standards wherever possible. 

NIST's evaluation of existing election information standards shall consider fitness for function under 

existing election codes, security, ease and cost of implementation, and other factors judged relevant 

by NIST. If no existing election information format standards (or portions thereof, or variations 

thereof) are judged by NIST, upon its detailed examination, to be acceptable for current use, then 

NIST should so recommend, and this resolution will have no net effect at this time. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #23-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution # 24-05, Offered by: Dr. Schutzer 

Title: Conformance Clause 

The conformance clause of a standard provides the answers to the important question: what may 

conform and how? A conformance clause defines, at a high level, what is required of implementers 

of the specification. The clause may specify minimal requirements for certain functions, as well as 

extensibility, optional features, and alternative approaches and how they are to be handled. The 

TGDC requests that NIST draft a conformance clause section for the Voting System Standard. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #24-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution # 25-05, Offered by: Dr. Schutzer 

Title: Precise and Testable Requirements 

For qualification of voting systems to be consistent, fair, and meaningful, it is necessary to control 

variability in the conformance assessment system. Both the requirements to be tested and the 

methods by which they are to be tested must be specified with appropriate precision. The TGDC 

requests that NIST: 

1. Conduct a review and analysis of the requirements in the 2002 VSS to ensure that they are 

sufficiently precise to enable meaningful testing, 

2. Include the requirements from the 2002 VSS that are already precise and testable, 

3. Write testable requirements for those requirements that are not sufficiently precise, 

4. Expand the testing standards in the VSS to specify test methods of those requirements, 

5. Update the requirements where appropriate during the review, such as reliability and 

accuracy specifications, and 

6. Adopt, to the extent that NIST determines it is advisable, commonly used equivalent 

commercial test methods. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #25-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution # 26-05, Offered by: Dr. Schutzer 

Title: Uniform Testing Methods and Procedures 

For consistency and transparency of voting systems testing, and to increase the public trust and 

confidence in the testing of voting systems, it is necessary that the same set of testing methods and 

procedures be used by each testing organization. The TGDC requests that NIST draft guidance for 

how to develop a public set of test methods and procedures. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #26-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005 

Resolution # 27-05, Offered by: Dr. Schutzer 

Title: Non-Conformant Voting Systems 

A provision in the 2002 VSS allows qualification of voting systems that do not conform to the 

requirements. [“Any uncorrected deficiency that does not involve the loss or corruption of voting 

data shall not necessarily be cause for rejection.”] If there are requirements that are frequently 

unmet by qualified systems, these requirements should be reviewed for possible elimination. The 

TGDC requests that NIST review the text of the 2002 VSS to determine if the provision for 

qualification of voting systems that do not conform to the requirements should be deleted. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #27-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution # 28-05, Offered by: Dr. Schutzer 

Title: Publicly Available Qualification Data 

The TGDC recognizes that public records laws are standard practice in many arenas where public 

trust and/or safety are at stake. To the extent possible, qualification test reports should be released to 

the public as evidence that the qualification process was responsibly executed. To handle those cases 

where release of the entirety of the reports is problematic, the TGDC requests that NIST recommend 

standards on qualification data to be provided, called a “Public Information Package,” that will set 

out requirements on the information that must be publicly available and published. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #28-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution # 29-05, Offered by: Dr. Schutzer 

Title: Ensuring Correctness of Software Code 

Volume 1, Section 4.2 and Volume 2, Section 5.4 of the 2002 VSS defines coding standards, as well 

as a source code review to be conducted by Independent Testing Authorities (ITAs) to enforce those 

coding standards. These coding standards are a means to an end, the end being an ITA evaluation of 

the code’s correctness to a high level of assurance. The TGDC requests that NIST: 

1. Recommend standards to be used in evaluating the correctness of voting system logic, 

including but not limited to software implementations, and 

2. Evaluate the 2002 VSS software coding standards with respect to their applicability to the 

recommended standards, and either revise them, delete them, or recommend new software 

coding standards, as appropriate. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #29-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution #30-05, Offered by: Dr. Schutzer 

Title: Quality Management Standards 

Volume 1, Sections 7 and 8 and Volume 2, Section 7 of the 2002 VSS require the vendor to follow 

certain quality assurance and configuration management practices and require the ITA to conduct 

several audits and documentation reviews to ensure that they were followed. These are a means to 

ensure that the vendor is capable of following responsible software engineering practices. The 

TGDC requests that NIST: 

1. Review and analyze quality management standards to determine their relevance to voting 

systems (and their security), and 

2. Recommend changes to the VSS quality assurance and configuration management sections 

based on the findings above. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #30-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005 

Resolution # 31-05, Offered by: Dr. Schutzer 

Title: Maintenance of the VSS 

All specifications contain ambiguities that are discovered during testing of implementations. 

Similarly, all specifications contain requirements that can be subject to multiple, equally defensible 

interpretations. The TGDC requests that NIST draft a strategy for maintenance of the VSS, which 

would address the issuance of interpretations of the VSS, the resolution of disputes, and the 

continuous improvement and revision of the VSS.

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #31-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005 

Resolution #32-05, Offered by: Dr. Schutzer 

Title: Sharing Information and De-Qualification of Voting Systems 

1. The TGDC recognizes that no conformance assessment process is perfect. Systems with 

non-conformities, even serious ones, can be granted qualification, only to cause problems at 

the precinct level after they are deployed. When a serious flaw is discovered in one 

jurisdiction, other affected jurisdictions should be informed. At present, however, there is no 

process to de-qualify voting systems that are discovered, after qualification has been granted, 

to have serious problems. The TGDC requests that NIST define a process and specification 

for sharing information amongst jurisdictions concerning qualified voting systems that have 

been discovered to have non-conformities, present problems and known vulnerabilities. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #32-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution #33-05, Offered by: Dr. Schutzer 

Title: Glossary and Voting Model 

The 2002 VSS does not contain a voting model depicting the entire voting process. The current 

Glossary of Terms needs revision. The TGDC requests that NIST update the 2002 VSS Glossary of 

Terms and develop a Voting Process Model that incorporates terminology from the revised Glossary 

to clearly depict the entire voting process and to determine where a voting system fits into this larger 

process model.

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #33-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution #34-05, Offered by: Dr. Schutzer 

Title: Assessment Papers on Recommendations for Future Work 

Separate from the immediate work effort to update the 2002 VSS specifications, the TGDC 

recognizes the need to develop a series of assessment papers that address important issues related to 

the interrelation of Election Management and VSS systems. These issues are likely to lead to future 

specifications for VSS systems. The TGDC requests that NIST develop assessment papers that 

discuss the need for: 

1. Standards and tests to support future systems built to support election day verification of 

voters, 

2. Standards for formatting of registration information (possibly using Extensible Markup 

Language-- XML) to make it easier for states to share information, 

3. Tests and standards to validate compensating process, procedures and fixes that address 

known VSS deficiencies, 

4. Better ways to integrate the voting registration process with the rest of the voting process, 

5. Standards and tests to support systems that implement absentee voting, 

6. Standards and tests to support systems that implement multi-day voting, 

7. Standards specifying what existing election information format standards (or portions thereof 

or variations thereof) are acceptable for use in voting systems, 

8. Standards supporting voter interactions and issues of correctly capturing indications of voter 

choice, and 

9. Standards supporting the interrelationship of polling place operation with usability, 

accessibility and privacy. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #34-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, January 18 and 19, 2005

Resolution #35-05, Offered by: Dr. Rivest 

Title: Wireless 

The TGDC has considered the advisability of using wireless technology within voting systems from a 

security perspective. It has concluded that, for now, the use of wireless technology introduces severe 

risk and should be approached with extreme caution. The TGDC directs NIST to research and draft 

standards documents for the use of wireless communications devices in voting systems. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #35-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, March 9, 2005

Resolution #36-05 Offered by Ms. Caldas 

Title: Consensus Standards 

The TGDC recognizes the timeframes established in HAVA as necessary to ensure a prompt 

response to the nation's voting system issues, which it was written to address. The TGDC further 

recognizes that a robust voluntary consensus standards system exists in this country and should be 

relied on, to the greatest extent possible, to facilitate the long-term development and regular 

maintenance of voluntary voting system guidelines and standards. 

Moreover, the TGDC encourages the EAC to rely not only on NIST's recognized expertise, but also 

on the US voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems, as exemplified by 

programs and standards which comply with the requirements set-forth in OMB Circular A119, as part 

of the EAC's long-term systemic approach to addressing the nation's continuing need for up-to-date, 

voluntary voting system guidelines and standards. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #36-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, April 20-21, 2005 

Resolution #37-05, Offered by: Dr. Semerjian 

Title: Work Product Instructions to Chair and Staff of National Institute of Standards and 

Technology (NIST) 

The Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) intends to consider and adopt Sections 

of the Final Draft of the initial recommendations to the Executive Director of the Election Assistance 

Commission (EAC) during its April 20 and 21, 2005 meeting. 

Each Section of the Final Draft is to be presented by a NIST staff member, followed by a question 

and answer session. Immediately thereafter, specific proposals for changes to that Section will be 

entertained by the TGDC. The Chair will attempt to reach unanimous consent for suggested changes. 

If unanimous consent is not reached, a TGDC member may make a motion, and a recorded vote will 

be taken on the matter. At the conclusion of the consideration of each Section, a vote will be taken to 

adopt the entire Section, as revised by motions adopted through unanimous consent or recorded vote. 

At the conclusion of the meeting, the TGDC Chair will assign NIST staff members to revise the 

Sections as required by votes of the TGDC. The TGDC Chair will supervise this process to assure 

that revisions reflect the intent of the TGDC as expressed in its votes and resolutions. In supervising 

the revision process, the TGDC Chair shall not depart from technical decisions made by the TGDC. 

The initial recommendations to the Executive Director of the EAC shall consist of the adopted 

Sections as revised by NIST staff under the supervision of the TGDC Chair. The TGDC Chair is to 

deliver this work product to the EAC. 

Because the work product will have been developed under a tight statutory schedule, the TGDC 

expects that minor and non-substantive drafting errors may have occurred. NIST is requested to 

compile relevant corrections in a supplement, which shall be delivered to the TGDC and EAC at an 

appropriate time. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #37-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, April 20-21, 2005 

Resolution #38-05, Offered by: Dr. Semerjian 

Title: Procedural Resolution Regarding "Grandfathering" 

Pursuant to HAVA, the TGDC will recommend Voluntary Voting Systems Guidelines (VVSG) to the 

EAC. Although the VVSG was developed based on current best practices and available technology, 

the recommendation may not include all practices currently followed or technologies currently 

utilized by election administrators. Consequently, existing practices in some jurisdictions may not be 

in compliance with the VVSG. The TGDC finds that whether such practices or technologies not 

contained within the VVSG should be “grandfathered” is a policy question not within the jurisdiction 

of the TGDC, and not within the statutory duties of NIST. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #38-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, April 20-21, 2005 

Resolution #39-05-revised, Offered by: Dr. Semerjian 

Title: Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail Assignment 

The TGDC recognizes that Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) have been developed in 

some jurisdictions without guidelines. The TGDC is aware that some states currently require or 

intend to require use of VVPATs. 

During its January 18, 2005 meeting, the TGDC received a request from the EAC to develop VVPAT 

guidelines for use by states and election jurisdictions that have chosen to require VVPATs so that 

those states can more effectively implement VVPATs. Subsequently, the TGDC instructed NIST to 

develop and submit VVPAT formal requirements as a part of its Voluntary Voting Systems 

Guidelines (VVSG) technical assistance work product. 

The TGDC neither endorses nor opposes the use of VVPAT. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #39-05: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, April 20-21, 2005 

Resolution #40-05, Offered by: Ms. Quesenbery 

Title: EAC Consideration of Initial Recommendations 

The Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) recognizes that it will deliver its first set 

of recommendations to the Executive Director of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), and 

that shortly thereafter such recommendations will be reviewed by the EAC and its Board of Advisors 

and Standards Board. The TGDC is aware of individuals and organizations that wish to provide 

comments on the recommendations, and is further informed such individuals and organizations may 

not understand how they can effectively provide such comments. 

The TGDC therefore recommends that the EAC announce how and when comments on the initial 

recommendations may be provided to the EAC for its consideration. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #40-05: 

 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Craig S. Burkhardt, Parlimentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, March 29, 2006

Resolution #01-06, Offered by: Mr. Craft 

Title: Tracking NIST Work Product to TGDC Resolutions 

NIST shall prepare a brief report that tracks the resolutions passed by the TGDC with the progress of 

standards development and specific work products of NIST. After the initial publication, reports will 

be provided to the TGDC prior to each public meeting and will be included as an appendix to all 

NIST and TGDC work products sent to the Election Assistance Commission. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #01-06: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Philip J. Greene, Parliamentarian 

 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, December 4-5, 2006 

Resolution #03-06, Offered by: Dr. Rivest 

Title: The Innovation Class in VVSG 2007 

To spur development of new and innovative secure voting systems, the Technical Guidelines 

Development Committee (TGDC) directs the Security and Transparency Subcommittee (STS) to 

include in the next iteration VVSG a new class of voting systems, referred to here as the “Innovation 

Class.” The TGDC directs STS to investigate high-level, guiding requirements for systems in this 

class for the purpose of providing system implementers with a path towards achieving certification to 

the next iteration of the VVSG. STS should also investigate approaches for reviewing, testing, and 

certifying systems in this class. These approaches could include convening a review board to review 

submissions and performing expanded open-ended vulnerability testing on systems submitted for 

certification. 

I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #03-06: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Philip J. Greene, Parliamentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, December 4-5, 2006 

Resolution #04-06 (Amendment to Resolution # 35-05) Offered by:Dr. Rivest 

Title: Wireless Security 

The TGDC has considered additional security research since Resolution #35-05 was passed 

and has concluded that the presence of or capability for any wireless in equipment whose 

purpose is for official vote casting, counting, and reporting should be prohibited in the next 

iteration of the VVSG. The sole exception is for infrared wireless, which should only be allowed 

if the physical path is shielded in addition to the security measures already in VVSG 2005. 

I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #04-06: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Philip J. Greene, Parliamentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, December 4-5, 2006 

Resolution # 06-06: Offered by Dr. Rivest 

Title: Software Independence of Voting Systems 

Election officials and vendors have appropriately responded to the growing complexity of voting 

systems by adding more stringent access controls, encryption, testing, and physical security to 

election procedures and systems. The TGDC has considered current threats to voting systems and, at 

this time, finds that security concerns do not warrant replacing deployed 

voting systems where EAC Best Practices are used. 

To provide auditability and proactively address the increasing difficulty of protecting against all 

prospective threats, the TGDC directs STS to write requirements for the next version of the VVSG 

requiring the next generation of voting systems to be software independent. The TGDC directs STS 

and HFP to draft usability and accessibility requirements to ensure that all 

voters can verify the independent voting record. 

The TGDC further directs STS and Core Requirements and Testing Subcommittees (CRT) to draft 

requirements to ensure that systems that produce independently verifiable voting records are reliable 

and provide adequate support for audits. 

I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #06-06: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Philip J. Greene, Parliamentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, December 4-5, 2006 

Resolution 08-06 Offered by Ms. Quesenbery 

 Title: Recommendation to ICDR 

The Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) sets the agenda for federal 

disability research, and actively seeks recommendations for future research topics. 

The TGDC recommends that the ICDR consider the topic of voting system accessibility for one of 

ICDR’s annual conferences. 

I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #08-06: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Philip J. Greene, Parliamentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, December 4-5, 2006 

Resolution #09-06 Offered by Mr. Berger 

 Title: Principal Criteria 

The TGDC will include in the guidelines as a statement of the overall goal to produce systems with 

the following attributes: 

• Secure 

• Accurate 

• Reliable 

• Usable 

• Accessible 

• Fit for its intended use 

This may allow for the certifying authority to consider whether a candidate’s voting system not only 

is in conformance with the requirements, but also whether it meets the higher level goals. 

I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #09-06: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Philip J. Greene, Parliamentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, December 4-5, 2006 

Resolution # 10-06: Offered by Mr. Berger 

Title: Reliability Metrics 

 

The TGDC concurs with moving away from MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) 

as a reliability metric for voting systems. 

I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #10-06: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Philip J. Greene, Parliamentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, March 22-23, 2007 

Resolution # 01-07: Offered by Ms. Quesenbery 

Title: Accessibility of Paper-based Voter Verification Requirement 

 

It is the recommendation that the TGDC accept the following language as a voting system 

requirement: 

If the accessible voting station (Acc-VS) generates a paper record (or some other durable, 

human-readable record) for the purpose of allowing voters to verify their ballot choices, then 

the system shall provide a mechanism that can read that record and generate an audio 

representation of its contents. The use of this mechanism shall be accessible to voters with 

dexterity disabilities. 

I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #01-07: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Thelma A. Allen , Parliamentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, March 22-23, 2007 

Resolution # 02-07: Offered by Mr. Schutzer 

Title: Improving Paper Records 

 

Whereas, the TGDC recognizes that paper rolls can be a challenge for voters, poll workers, and 

audits: 

–They can be difficult to handle in an audit or recount, 

–The voting order preserved on the roll can be a danger to ballot secrecy if good election 

management processes are not followed, and 

–It can be difficult to make them accessible for blind, low vision, low literacy, second 

language, or non-written language voters. 

Whereas, therefore, the TGDC has determined that the current paper roll solution is acceptable until 

an alternative, new technology becomes available, and 

Resolved: The TGDC directs the subcommittees to develop more demanding requirements for future 

paper audit trails that can solve the problems posed by today’s paper rolls. 

I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #02-07: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Thelma A. Allen , Parliamentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, May 21-22, 2007 

Resolution # 03-07: Offered by Secretary Gale 

Title: HFP Preliminary Approval 

The TGDC grants preliminary and conditional approval for the TGDC HFP Subcommittee to 

complete the HFP sections of the VVSG (Volume 3, Chapter 3) recommendations subject to final 

review of the edited and updated materials. 

I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #03-07: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Thelma A. Allen , Parliamentarian 

 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, May 21-22, 2007 

Resolution # 04-07: Offered by Ms. Quesenbery 

Title: CRT Preliminary Approval 

The TGDC grants preliminary and conditional approval for the TGDC CRT Subcommittee, working 

with other TGDC Subcommittees, to complete the CRT sections of the VVSG (Vol. 2, Chap. 2; Vol. 

3, Chaps. 2, 16,17, 18; Vol. 4, All; and Vol. 5, All) recommendations subject to final review of the 

edited and updated materials. 

I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #04-07: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Thelma A. Allen , Parliamentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, May 21-22, 2007 

Resolution # 05-07: Offered by Mr. Rivest 

Title: STS Preliminary Approval 

The TGDC grants preliminary and conditional approval for the TGDC STS Subcommittee, working 

with other TGDC Subcommittees, to complete the STS sections of the VVSG (Vol. 3, Chaps. 4-15) 

recommendations subject to final review of the edited and updated materials. 

I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #05-07: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Thelma A. Allen , Parliamentarian 

 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, August 17, 2007 

Resolution # 06-07: Offered by Dr. Rivest and Ms. Purcell 

Title: STS VVSG Sections Final Approval 

The TGDC grants final approval for the Security and Transparency Sections: 

•Part 1

 –Chapter 2 Section 2.7

 –Chapters 4-5 All

 –Chapter 6 Section 6.6

 –Chapter 7 Section 7.5.1

•Part 2

 –Chapter 3 Section 3.5

 –Chapter 4 Section 4.3

•Part 3

 –Chapter 3 Section 3.4

 –Chapter 4 Section 5.4 

As part of its second set of VVSG recommendations to the Executive Director of the EAC, subject to 

editing as instructed by the TGDC at this meeting and final review by the Chair of the TGDC. 

I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #06-07: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Thelma A. Allen , Parliamentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, August 17, 2007 

Resolution # 07-07: Offered by Mr. Miller 

Title: CRT VVSG Sections Final Approval 

The TGDC grants final approval for the Core Requirements & Testing Sections: 

•Part 1

 –Chapters 1 and 8 All

 –Chapter 2 All except Section 2.7

 –Chapter 6 All except Section 6.6

 –Chapter 7 All except Section 7.5.1

•Part 2

 –All except Chapter 3 Section 3.5 and Chapter 4 Section 4.3

•Part 3

 –All except Sections 3.4 and 5.4 

As part of its second set of VVSG recommendations to the Executive Director of the EAC, subject to 

editing as instructed by the TGDC at this meeting and final review by the Chair of the TGDC. 

I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #07-07: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Thelma A. Allen , Parliamentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, August 17, 2007 

Resolution # 08-07: Offered by Ms. Quesenbery 

Title: HFP VVSG Sections Final Approval 

The TGDC grants final approval for the Human Factors and Privacy Sections: 

 •Part 1, 

 –Chapter 3 All 

 •Part 3, 

 –Chapter 4, Section 4.5 

As part of its second set of VVSG recommendations to the Executive Director of the EAC, subject to 

editing as instructed by the TGDC at this meeting and final review by the Chair of the TGDC. 

As part of its second set of VVSG recommendations to the Executive Director of the EAC, subject to 

editing as instructed by the TGDC at this meeting and final review by the Chair of the TGDC. 

I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #08-07: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Thelma A. Allen , Parliamentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, August 17, 2007 

Resolution # 09-07: Offered by Ms. Quesenbery 

Title: VVSG Document Final Approval 

The TGDC grants final approval for the document “Draft Voluntary Voting System Guidelines-Next 

Iteration-August 7, 2007” in its entirety as the second set of VVSG recommendations to the 

Executive Director of the EAC, subject to editing as instructed by the TGDC at this meeting and final 

review by the Chair of the TGDC. 

I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution #09-07: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Thelma A. Allen , Parliamentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, August 17, 2007 

Resolution # 10-07: Offered by Dr. Rivest 

Title: TGDC Encouragement of Innovation 

The TGDC recognizes that innovation in voting systems must take place for voting systems to 

become more usable, accessible, secure, reliable, and accurate for all voters and voting 

populations.The TGDC urges the EAC, with technical assistance from NIST, to continue to develop 

and publish detailed plans and specific procedures for an Innovation Class program so as to 

encourage innovation in voting systems and to make clear to manufacturers how they may use the 

Innovation Class to achieve conformance to the VVSG for their innovative products. 

 I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution # 10-07: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Thelma A. Allen , Parliamentarian 
U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Technical Guidelines Development Committee 

Resolution adopted by the TGDC at their plenary meeting, August 17, 2007 

Resolution # 11-07: Offered by Ms. Purcell 

Title: Recognition of TGDC Chair and NIST Staff 

The TGDC expresses its sincere appreciation for the exemplary leadership of the Chair, Dr. William 

Jeffrey in the work of this Committee to meet the relevant mandates of the Help America Vote Act. 

The TGDC also recognizes the superior technical efforts of NIST scientists and support staff in both 

the drafting of the VVSG recommendations and organizing the activities of this Committee and its 

working Subcommittees. 

I hereby certify the accuracy of Resolution # 11-07: 

 ____________________________________________ 

 Thelma A. Allen , Parliamentarian