[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 58 (Friday, March 26, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 14575]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-6746]



[[Page 14575]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology

[Docket No.: 100114021-0023-01]


Voting Equipment Evaluations Phase III

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: NIST is soliciting interest in Phase III of the benchmark 
research for voting equipment used in an election in 2008 or later and/
or certified (or submitted for certification) by the Election 
Assistance Commission. Manufacturers interested in participating in 
Phase III of this research will be asked to execute a Letter of 
Understanding. Interested parties are invited to contact NIST for 
information regarding participation, Letters of Understanding and 
shipping.

DATES: Manufacturers who wish to participate in the program must submit 
a request and an executed Letter of Understanding by 5 p.m. Eastern 
Standard Time on May 25, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Letters of Understanding may be obtained from and should be 
submitted to Benjamin Long, National Institute of Standards and 
Technology, Information Technology Laboratory Office, Building 222, 
Room B306, 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 8970, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-
8970. Letters of Understanding may be faxed to: Benjamin Long at (301) 
975-6097.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For shipping and further information, 
you may telephone Benjamin Long at (301) 975-2816, or e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the provisions of the 
Help America Vote Act (Pub. L. 107-252), the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology (NIST) will be conducting Phase III research 
on voting equipment used in an election in 2008 or later and/or 
certified (or submitted for certification) by the Election Assistance 
Commission. NIST Phase I, NIST Phase II, and NIST Phase III research 
support Technical Guidelines Development Committee Resolution 05-05, 
Human Performance-Based Standards and Usability Testing. NIST Phase III 
research is designed to: (1) Develop advanced test protocols, primarily 
for usability and accessibility, (2) validate test protocols, and (3) 
support additional research and test protocol development for next 
generation voluntary voting system guidelines. NIST may also examine 
relevant instructions, documentation and error messages, without doing 
any direct usability studies thereon.
    NIST Phase I provided research for determining initial benchmarks 
(see: http://vote.nist.gov/meeting-08172007/Usability-Benchmarks-080907.doc). NIST Phase II provided research to develop usability test 
protocols. NIST Phase III continues the research to develop and 
validate advanced test protocols. Interested manufacturers should 
contact NIST at the address given above. NIST will supply a Letter of 
Understanding, which the manufacturer must execute and send back to 
NIST. NIST will then provide the manufacturer with shipping 
instructions for the manufacturer's equipment. The equipment provided 
will be returned to the manufacturer after the NIST experiments, 
approximately two years from commencement of the experiments. 
Manufacturers should be aware that some of the testing could damage or 
destroy the equipment, although NIST expects only normal wear and tear. 
At the conclusion of the experiments, the equipment will be returned to 
the manufacturer in its post-testing condition. NIST, the Election 
Assistance Commission, and/or the Technical Guidelines Development 
Committee, will not be responsible for the condition of the equipment 
when returned to the manufacturer. As a condition for participating in 
this program, each manufacturer must agree in advance to hold harmless 
all of these parties for the condition of the equipment. Information 
acquired during the tests regarding potential usability problems will 
be reported to the respective manufacturer. Results for identifiable 
vendor equipment will not be released. Comparative information may be 
released in a blind manner. Performance standards, benchmarks and 
conformance test procedures will be made publicly available. NIST may 
transport equipment to locations off site from NIST's main campus as 
required for the purpose of conducting usability tests. NIST will 
ensure that all off site benchmark testing locations have the same or 
higher level of security and equipment protection procedures as the on 
site NIST labs located at the NIST address provided above. 
Participating manufacturers should include or provide a technical 
tutorial on the setup and deployment of the equipment. NIST will pay 
all shipping costs, and there is no cost to the manufacturer for the 
testing. No modification to the equipment is permitted during the 
testing process. Voting equipment in an election in 2008 or later and/
or certified (or submitted for certification) by the Election 
Assistance Commission that will be accepted for the experiments may 
include direct record electronic systems, optical scan systems, 
accessible voting systems, tabulation and reporting systems, ballot-on-
demand, or electronic poll book systems as well as software used for 
ballot design and creation.

    Dated: March 23, 2010.
Marc G. Stanley,
Acting Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. 2010-6746 Filed 3-25-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P