[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 6, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62639-62640]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-5526]


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ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION


Proposed Guidance on Voluntary Voting System Guidelines

AGENCY: United States Election Assistance Commission.

ACTION: Notice of TGDC draft recommendations of Voluntary Voting System 
Guidelines and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) (Pub. L. 107-252, 
October 29, 2002) established the U.S. Election Assistance Commission 
(EAC). Section 202 of HAVA directs the EAC to adopt voluntary voting 
system guidelines (VVSG) and to provide for the testing, certification, 
decertification, and recertification of voting system hardware and 
software. The VVSG provides specifications and standards against which 
voting systems can be tested to determine if they provide basic 
functionality, accessibility, and security capabilities. Section 221 of 
HAVA mandates the creation of the Technical Guidelines Development 
Committee (TGDC) to assist the EAC in developing its voluntary voting 
system guidance. The TGDC has recommended standards to the EAC. These 
recommended standards were submitted by the TGDC to the EAC's Executive 
Director pursuant to section 221 of HAVA.
    As part of its development process the EAC is seeking public 
comment on the TGDC's recommended standards. The EAC encourages the 
public to offer specific and detailed comments on all aspects and 
sections of the requirements. The EAC is particularly interested in 
receiving comments on three distinct issues:
    (1) The concept of Software Independence and the corresponding 
requirements for Independent Voter Verifiable Records and the 
Innovation class;
    (2) Open Ended Vulnerability Testing; and
    (3) the usability and accessibility benchmarks developed for this 
iteration of the VVSG.

All three of these concepts are new to the VVSG and could have a 
substantial impact on the cost of implementation and on the security 
and accessibility of voting systems.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before 4 p.m. on March 5, 2008.
    Submission of Comments: The EAC provides two means of submission of 
comments: (1) On-line electronic comment form at http://www.eac.gov, 
and (2) by mail to Voluntary Voting System Guidelines Comments, U.S. 
Election Assistance Commission, 1225 New York Ave., NW., Suite 1100, 
Washington, DC 20005. Commenters are encouraged to submit comments 
electronically to ensure timely receipt and consideration.
    In order to allow efficient and effective review of comments the 
EAC requests that:
    (1) Comments should refer to the specific section that is the 
subject of the comment.
    (2) Comments regarding a term that is included or that should be 
added to the ``Appendix A: Definitions of Words with Special Meanings'' 
should reference the term, part, and section number to which the 
comment refers.
    (3) General comments regarding the entire document or comments that 
refer to more than one section should be made as specifically as 
possible so that EAC can clearly understand to which portion(s) of the 
documents the comment refers.
    (4) To the extent that a comment suggests a change in the wording 
of a

[[Page 62640]]

requirement or section of the guidelines, please provide proposed 
language for the suggested change.
    To Obtain a copy of the TGDC Draft Recommendations of the Voluntary 
Voting System Guidelines: Due to the fact that the Voluntary Voting 
System Guidelines are more than 550 pages in length, the entire draft 
document has not been attached to this notice. A complete copy of the 
TGDC draft recommendations of the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines is 
available from the EAC in electronic format. An electronic copy can be 
downloaded in PDF format or read in HTML version on EAC's Web site, 
http;://www.eac.gov. In order to obtain a paper copy of the TGDC draft 
recommendations please mail a written request to Voluntary Voting 
System Guidelines Comments, U.S. Election Assistance Commission, 1225 
New York Ave., NW., Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Masterson, Phone (202) 566-
3100, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Prior to the passage of HAVA, the Federal 
Election Commission (FEC) published the 2002 Voting System Standards 
(VSS). HAVA mandated that the EAC update the VSS. In December of 2005 
the EAC adopted the 2005 VVSG. The 2005 VVSG used many of the same 
requirements as the 2002 VSS but it expanded the security, 
accessibility, and usability sections. On March 29, 2006, the TGDC held 
its first meeting to discuss the next iteration of the VVSG. Since that 
time, the TGDC has held numerous public meetings and subcommittee 
conference calls to create a set of draft guidelines for recommendation 
to the EAC (all TGDC meeting materials can be found at http://www.vote.nist.gov). On August 17, 2007, the TGDC voted to complete 
final edits of their recommendations and submit them to the Executive 
Director of the EAC. The EAC received the draft guidelines from the 
TGDC on August 31, 2007.
    The recommended guidelines currently consist of an Introduction and 
three distinct Parts. The Introduction is an overview of the 
requirements and explanations of new or expanded materials. Part 1 
contains the equipment requirements including upgraded requirements for 
security and new usability benchmarks for voting machines. Part 2 
details the documentation requirements for both the manufacturers and 
the Voting System Test Laboratories (VSTL). Part 2 also includes a 
section on the submission of the Technical Data Package and 
requirements for full system user documentation. Part 3 contains the 
testing requirements for voting machines. This includes new material on 
open ended vulnerability testing and new benchmarks for performance 
testing. In addition to the introduction and the three parts, the 
guidelines contain (1) an appendix for ``definitions of words with 
special meaning'' specific to the requirements and (2) an appendix 
detailing all references and end notes.
    Now that the TGDC has submitted its draft recommendations to the 
EAC for publication in the Federal Register, the EAC will begin its 
review and development process. This is a four phase plan:
    Phase I--EAC will submit the TGDC's draft document to the Federal 
Register and provide a public comment feature on www.eac.gov. The 
public comment period will last for 120 days and all comments will be 
made available for public review. This public comment period is not 
required by law; however, the EAC thought it was extremely important to 
receive public input before proceeding with the process. During this 
public comment period the EAC will conduct public hearings regarding 
the TGDC's draft recommendations. The TGDC draft is currently available 
at http://www.eac.gov.
    Phase II--EAC will collect and review all public comments submitted 
on the TGDC draft. After consideration of all public comments, the EAC 
will then perform an internal review.
    Phase III--Based upon public comment and internal review of the 
TGDC document, the EAC will develop and publish its draft version in 
the Federal Register. The public will have another 120 days to comment 
on the EAC draft version. EAC will conduct public hearings to discuss 
its draft version.
    Phase IV--EAC will collect and review all comments submitted and 
make final modifications. The final version of the VVSG will be adopted 
by vote of the Commission at a public meeting and then published in the 
Federal Register.

Thomas R. Wilkey,
Executive Director, U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
[FR Doc. 07-5526 Filed 11-5-07; 8:45 am]
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