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Voting System Standards

On April 30, 2002, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) approved the Voting Systems Standards for release and publication. This document represents a three year effort by the FEC, it's Office of Election Adminstration, and election officials and administrators throughout the country. The Standards ensure that election equipment certified for purchase by participating states will be accurate, reliabile, and dependable.

Drafts of this document have been released for public comment twice, generating significant public interest and comment from a variety of interests including vendors, election officials, academics, technical experts, special interest advocacy groups, and concerned citizens. Many sections of the Standards have been revised to reflect issues raised by these comments.

The Standards are divided into two volumes. Volume I provides preformance standards and functional capabilities for voting systems that are seeking qualification. Volume II addresses documentation required to be submitted by the vendor prior to testing, the tests conducted by the Independent Test Authorities (ITA’s), and the products generated by the test process. Also included is an Overview that discusses the particular content of each Volume, and provides a background of the Standards process.

Documents labeled [Word] are provided in Microsoft Word file format; Microsoft Word is available from Microsoft.

VSS Sections

Overview [Word]

Volume I, Performance Standards

	Section 1 - Introduction [Word]
	Section 2 - Functional Capabilities [Word]
	Section 3 - Hardware [Word]
	Section 4 - Software [Word]
	Section 5 - Telecommunications [Word]
	Section 6 - Security [Word]
	Section 7 - Quality Assurance [Word]
	Section 8 - Configuration Management [Word]
	Section 9 - Overview of Qualification Testing [Word]
	Appendix A - Glossary [Word]
	Appendix B - Applicable Documents [Word]
	Appendix C - Usability [Word]

Volume II, Testing Standards

	Section 1 - Introduction [Word]
	Section 2 - Technical Data Package [Word]
	Section 3 - Functionality Testing [Word]
	Section 4 - Hardware Testing [Word]
	Section 5 - Software Testing [Word]
	Section 6 - System Integration Testing [Word]
	Section 7 - CM & QA Testing [Word]
	Appendix A - Qualification Test Plan [Word]
	Appendix B - Qualification Test Report [Word]
	Appendix C - Qualification Test Design Criteria [Word]