The price includes the ballot scanner and storage box, privacy booths, and a 16-hour battery backup for each of the 801 polling places in the state, plus a supply of spare machines available for emergencies. New voting equipment must be tested by an independent testing authority before it can be marketed anywhere in the United States. However, these regulations were promulgated before the touch screen technology for voting machines was available and do not cover the newer system. In addition, the secretary would have to amend existing DRE machine regulations or adopt new ones to cover the touch screen machines. After the secretary certifies a particular machine, towns are allowed to purchase it.
Towns perform their own acceptance testing before entering a purchase contract with a vendor.
The touch screen machine included among the electronic machines listed in the E.D.S. survey is the Votronic. The California secretary of state certified Sequoia Pacific and Global touch screen machines in July 1999. Sequoia Pacific's AVC Edge touch screen voting machine is described at Sequoia Pacific .