Important
This glossary is outdated and retained for historial purposes only. Please use the NIST Voting Glossary.
Ballot used for absentee voting.
Synonyms: mail ballot, postal ballot
Voting that can occur unsupervised at a location chosen by the voter either before or on election day.
Synonyms: all-mail voting, mail voting, postal voting, vote-by-mail
Examination of a voting system and by the purchasing election jurisdiction to validate:
- the performance of delivered devices to ensure they meet procurement requirements, and
- that the delivered system is, in fact, the certified system purchased. This usually happens in a simulated-use environment.
The process of granting or denying specific requests to:
- obtain and use information and related information processing services; and
- enter specific physical facilities.
Measurable characteristics that indicate the degree to which a system is available to, and usable by, individuals with disabilities. The most common disabilities include those associated with vision, hearing, mobility, and cognition.
Formal recognition that a laboratory is competent to carry out specific tests or calibrations.
- Authoritative body that provides accreditation.
- Independent organization responsible for
- assessing the performance of other organizations against a recognized standard, and
- formally confirming the status of those that meet the standard.
Programmed device that creates credentials necessary to begin a voting session using a specific ballot style. Examples include electronic poll books and card activators that contain credential information necessary to determine the appropriate ballot style for the voter.
Span of time during which a vote-capture device either is ready to begin a voting session or is in use during a voting session.
Process of resolving flagged cast ballots to reflect voter intent. Common reasons for flagging include:
- write-ins,
- overvotes,
- marginal machine-readable mark,
- having no contest selections marked on the entire ballot, or
- the ballot being unreadable by a scanner.
A ballot that contains contest selections that require adjudication.
A physical separation between systems that requires data to be moved by some external, manual procedure.
The amount of time that a voting device will wait for detectible voter activity after issuing an alert, before going into an inactive state requiring election worker intervention.
The ballot or accompanying information is said to be in an alternative format if it is presented in non-standard ballot language and format. Examples include, but are not limited to, languages other than English, Braille, ASCII text, large print, recorded audio.
An expected mark made according to the ballot instructions.
A vote variation used for elections in which each voter may "approve" of (that is, select) any number of candidates. Typically, the winner(s) is the most-approved candidate(s).
Synonyms: equal-and-even cumulative voting, proportional voting
Storage media that is designed to preserve content for an extended period of time with minimal data corruption or loss.
A device that improves or maintains the capabilities of people with disabilities (such as no vision, low vision, mobility, or cognitive). These devices include headsets, keypads, software, sip-and-puff, and voice synthesizers.
Encryption system that uses a public and private key pair for cryptographic operation. The private key is generally stored in a user's digital certificate and used typically to decrypt or digitally sign data. The public key is used typically to encrypt the data or verify its digital signatures. The keys could be used interchangeably as needed, that is, a public key can be used to decrypt data and the private key can be used to encrypt the data.
A ballot display format in which contest options and other information are communicated through sound and speech.
Synonyms: audio ballot
- Systematic, independent, documented process for obtaining records, statements of fact, or other relevant information and assessing them objectively to determine the extent to which specified requirements are fulfilled.
- Verification of statistical or exact agreement of records from different processes or subsystems of a voting system.
- A review of a system and its controls to determine its operational status and the accuracy of its outputs.
Voting device dedicated exclusively to independently verifying or assessing the voting system's performance.
Information recorded during election activities to reconstruct steps followed or to later verify actions taken with respect to the voting system.
Verifying the identity of a user, process, or device, often as a prerequisite to allowing access to resources in an information system. Audit trails may include event logs, paper records, error messages, and reports.
Presentation of the contest options for a particular voter.
The software logic that
- defines the combinations of contest selections that are valid and invalid on a given ballot and,
- determines how the contest selections are totaled in a given election.
A list of contests and associated options that may appear on a ballot for a particular election.
The concrete presentation of the contents of a ballot appropriate to the particular voting technology being used. The contents may be rendered using various methods of presentation (visual or audio), language, or graphics.
Archival digital image (e.g. JPEG, PDF, etc. ) captured from one or more sides of a paper ballot cast by an individual voter.
Information provided to the voter that describes the procedure for marking the ballot. This information may appear directly on the paper or electronic ballot or may be provided separately.
A catalog prepared by election officials listing all the physical paper ballots and their locations in sequence.
A device that:
- permits contest options to be reviewed on an electronic interface,
- produces a human-readable paper ballot, and
- does not make any other lasting record of the voter's selections.
Synonyms: BMD, EBM, electronic ballot marker
A question that appears on a ballot with options, usually in the form of an approval or rejection.
Synonyms: ballot issue, ballot proposition, ballot question, referendum
A contest option that specifies a response to a ballot measure.
A process that produces a paper ballot of the required ballot style that meets a specific voter's needs. The use of this process requires:
- a system with a printer that can create a tabulatable paper ballot; and
- a device driving the printer that has all the data needed to print each ballot style and allows selection of the needed style. Note: "ballot on demand" is a registered trademark of ES&S.
Synonyms: BOD
Process of generating ballots for presentation to voters, for example, printing paper ballots or configuring the ballot presentation for an electronic display.
The process of varying the order of listed candidates within a contest. This allows each candidate to appear first on the list of candidates an approximately equal number of times across different ballot styles or election districts.
A goal of voting systems to ensure that no contest selections can be associated with a voter.
Ballot data that has been put into contest order for a particular precinct and considers a particular set of voter situations. Voter situations include party affiliation (for closed primaries), and age of the voter (in states that permit 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections), among others.
An optical, machine-readable representation of data as a sequence of bars and spaces that conform to accepted standards. Linear (1d) barcode standards include UPC, EAN and 128. QR is an example of a 2d barcode standard.
Device used to scan barcodes and convert the encoded information into a usable format. Barcode readers are used to scan codes on a variety of election materials including ballots, driver's licenses, voter ID cards, voter information packets, envelopes, and other election documents.
A vote variation in which the candidate with the most votes wins. In single-seat contests, the voter may only select one contest option. In multi-seat contests for n seats, the voter may select up to n contest options.
Synonyms: Plurality voting
A collection of paper ballots gathered as a group for tabulation or for auditing.
An electronic voting device that:
- accepts stacks of hand-marked or BMD-produced paper ballots and automatically processes them until the stack is empty;
- is usually used at an election jurisdiction's central location;
- is mostly commonly used to process absentee ballots;
- usually has input and output hoppers for ballots;
- scans a ballot and rejects it if either unreadable or un-processable;
- detects, interprets, and validates contest selections;
- detects and sorts (either digitally or physically) ballots that are unreadable or un-processable, or that contain undeterminable selections, marking exceptions, or write-ins; and
- tabulates and reports contest results as required. This unit was previously referred to as central count optical scanner or CCOS.
Synonyms: CCOS, central tabulator, central-count optical scanner, high-speed optical scanner
Quantitative point of reference to which the measured performance of a system or device may be compared.
An issued ballot without any selections made.
Synonyms: unmarked ballot
(Of a software program or logical design) Function, method, operation, subroutine, procedure, or analogous structural unit that appears within a module.
Person contending in a contest for office. A candidate may be explicitly presented as one of the contest options or may be a write-in candidate.
A contest option that is associated with a candidate.
The process of compiling, reviewing, and validating election returns that forms the basis of the official results by a political subdivision.
(v) The final action a voter takes in selecting contest options and irrevocably confirming their intent to vote as selected.
Ballot in which the voter has taken final action in selecting contest options and irrevocably confirmed their intent to vote as selected.
Synonyms: voted ballot
Archival tabulatable record of a set of contest selections produced by a single voter as interpreted by the voting system.
Synonyms: CVR
Electronic voting device that consolidates and reports vote totals from multiple precincts at a central location.
Testing of a voting system performed by a testing authority (such as the EAC or a state) to ensure that the system meets the requirements defined in the standards being tested against in the manner specified in its product documentation.
Data or information in its encrypted form.
Partisan primary election in which the voter receives a ballot containing only those party-specific contests pertaining to the political party with which the voter is affiliated, along with non-party-specific contests presented at the same election. Unaffiliated voters may be permitted to vote only on non-party-specific contests.
Two or more precincts treated as a single precinct for a specific election.
Synonyms: consolidated precinct, super precinct
Hardware or software components that are widely available for purchase and can be integrated into special-purpose systems.
Synonyms: COTS
Standard and practice of creating and storing data in a common, described format that can be read by other systems.
Synonyms: CDF
Format used for usability test reporting. The format is described in ISO/IEC 25062:2006 "Common Industry Format (CIF) for Usability Test Reports," one of a group of usability standards. CIF is the format required for usability test reporting.
Synonyms: CIF
Element within a larger voting system.
Prevention of unauthorized disclosure of information.
A continuous process of recording and maintaining consistent and reliable records pertaining to an organization's hardware and software composition, including software version control and hardware updates.
Fulfilling specified requirements by a product, process, or service.
Process of testing device or system of devices against the requirements specified in one or more standards. The outcomes of a conformance test are generally a pass or fail result, possibly including reports of problems encountered during the execution.
Synonyms: conformity assessment
A single decision or set of associated decisions being put before the voters (for example, the option of candidates to fill a particular public office or the approval or disapproval of a constitutional amendment). This term encompasses other terms such as "race," "question," and "issue" that are sometimes used to refer to specific kinds of contests. It does not refer to the legal challenge of an election outcome.
A votable choice that appears under a contest.
A specified area on a ballot where a voter's selection in a particular contest can be indicated.
Synonyms: ballot marking target area, ballot selection position, target, target area
Vote that will be tabulated for a particular contest option. This term was previously referred to as valid vote.
A selection made on the ballot by a voter with respect to a specific single contest (for example, a candidate, the value "Yes" or "Approve").
Subset of application logic that is responsible for vote recording and tabulation.
Action taken to eliminate the causes of an existing deficiency or other undesirable situation in order to prevent it from recurring.
A read ballot that has been processed and whose votes are included in the vote totals.
Synonyms: tabulated ballot, tallied ballot
Endorsement of a single candidate or slate of candidates by more than one political party. The candidate or slate appears on the ballot representing each endorsing political party.
Synonyms: cross filing
A voting system that supports both voter verification and election verification.
Synonyms: E2E
A cryptographic algorithm that computes a numerical hash value based on a data file or electronic message. It should be infeasible in practice to find two distinct data files or messages that will result in the same numerical hash value. The numerical value can be considered to be a fingerprint of the file or message. Colloquially known as a hash, hash function, or digital fingerprint. Hashes provide integrity protection.
A numeric value used as input to cryptographic operations, such as decryption, encryption, signature generation, or verification of a digital signature.
Discipline that embodies the principles, means, and methods for transforming data to hide their semantic content, prevent their unauthorized use, prevent their undetected modification, or establish their authenticity.
A vote variation used in n-seat contests where a voter is permitted to distribute n votes to one or more contest options. Two major variations are used in American elections, one of which may result in fractional votes.
Measures taken to protect computer systems and data from attack and unauthorized access or use.
Revocation of national or state certification of a voting system or any of its components.
Cryptographic process of transforming encrypted data back into its pre-encryption form.
Also called the "Castle" approach. Multiple levels of logical and physical security measures that deny a single point of security failure in a system. Examples include the combined use of passwords, encryption, lock-and-key access, security seals, and logs.
Physical apparatus and any supporting supplies, materials, and logic that together form a functional unit that performs assigned tasks as an integrated whole.
A data set used to identify the holder of the certification and to verify, using a PKI, the authenticity of the certificate. It typically includes the holder's private key and is used for cryptographic operations such as digitally signing or encrypting data.
A cryptographic operation where the private key is used to digitally sign an electronic document and the public key is used to verify the signature. Digital signatures provide data authentication and integrity protection.
A vote-capture device that allows:
- electronic presentation of a ballot,
- electronic selection of valid contest options, and
- electronic storage of contest selections as individual records. It also provides a summary of these contest selections.
Synonyms: DRE
Voting that occurs prior to election day under the supervision of election workers.
Synonyms: in-person absentee voting
Physical location where individuals may cast a ballot before election day under the supervision of election workers.
Synonyms: early vote center
An office that is filled primarily or exclusively via election.
A formal process in which qualified voters select candidates to fill seats in one or more offices and/or vote on one or more proposed ballot measures.
Election Assistance Commission, created by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) to assist the states regarding HAVA compliance and to distribute HAVA funds to the states. The EAC is also charged with creating voting system guidelines and operating the federal government's first voting system certification program. The EAC is also responsible for maintaining the National Voter Registration form, conducting research, and administering a national clearinghouse on elections that includes shared practices, information for voters, and other resources to improve elections.
Synonyms: EAC
The act of confirming the final official results of a jurisdiction's election. This event occurs after results from valid ballots are tallied from all sources (election day, absentee voting, early voting, provisional ballots, etc.) and results are validated and approved by those legally responsible.
The last day on which voters may cast a ballot. Absentee ballots and early voting ballots may be cast in advance of election day.
Data used in defining an election, including election districts, contests, candidates, and ballot style information.
Programmed memory device containing all applicable election definition data required by the election system component where the device will be used.
Administrative area in which voters are entitled to vote in contests that are specific to that area.
A geographical area to which a practical authority has been granted to administer elections for political or administrative offices. Areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. States, counties, cities, towns, and townships are all examples of jurisdictions.
Set of processing functions and databases within a voting system typically used to:
- develop and maintain election definition data,
- perform ballot layout functions,
- create ballot presentation templates for ballot printers or devices used by voters for ballot markup,
- tabulate votes,
- consolidate and report results, and
- maintain audit trails.
Synonyms: EMS
Any person who is involved with administering or conducting an election, including government personnel and temporary election workers. This may include any county clerk and recorder, election judge, member of a canvassing board, central election official, election day worker, member of a board of county commissioners, member or secretary of a board of directors authorized to conduct public elections, representative of a governing body, or other person engaged in the performance of election duties as required by the election code.
Synonyms: EO
Process by which election officials or their designees use voting system software to create the election definition and configure all election definition medium for use in a specific election.
A tabulation report produced after the closing of polls for the purpose of publicizing the vote counts.
A system that:
- aggregates and displays election results across the election jurisdiction,
- can be real-time or near real-time,
- can provide a variety of formats for displaying election results, and
- may provide direct feeds for the media.
Synonyms: ENR, ERR, election night reporting
- A technology-based system that is used to collect, process, and store data related to elections and election administration. In addition to voter registration systems and public election websites, election systems include voting systems, vote tabulation systems, electronic poll books, election results reporting systems, and auditing devices.
- Entire array of procedures, people, resources, equipment, and locations associated with conducting elections.
Any person who interacts with those coming to vote. This includes any poll worker, election day worker, early voting worker, or other temporary staff engaged in supporting the voting or vote counting process.
The delivery of ballot and voter information packets electronically. The MOVE Act requires each state to provide for the electronic delivery (via fax, email, or an Internet-supported application) of ballots and related information from the local election office to the registered UOCAVA voter.
Subsystem within a voting system which communicates ballot information to a voter in video, audio, or other alternative format which allows the voter to select contest options using vocalization or physical actions.
The return of a voted ballot or voter information packet using electronic means. This can be by fax, email, or through the use of an Internet supported application. Sometimes referred to as "Internet Voting."
Device that uses electronic or electromechanical components.
Device that partially automates the process of checking in voters, assigning them the correct ballot style, and marking voters who have been issued a ballot. May be used in place of a traditional paper poll book. E-poll books can be stand alone at the precinct with a separate copy of the registration list or can be networked into a central voter registration system. They can check and update voter records in real time.
Synonyms: EPB, e-poll book
Component of an electronic vote-capture device that communicates ballot information to the voter and accepts contest selection input from the voter.
The universe of all voters who, if they cast a ballot, would have the legal right to have eligible contests on that ballot tabulated. This would include those who do not appear in the list of eligible voters because they live in a same-day registration or no registration state and did not or could not register ahead of time.
Cryptographic process of transforming data (called "plaintext") into a form (called "ciphertext") that conceals the data's original meaning to prevent it from being known or used. Encryption provides confidentiality protection.
Approval by a political party, for example, as the candidate that the party fields in a particular contest or as the candidate that should receive straight party votes. In some states, more than one party may endorse a candidate or contest option.
An alternative visual display format supporting personal choices such as text size, color contrast, and preferred language.
Coding system that allows data being read or transmitted to be checked for errors and, when detected, corrects those errors.
Ratio of the number of errors that occur to the volume of data processed.
An attack on a system where the attacker is using some means to bypass security controls in order to attain a higher privilege level on the target system.
Refers to processing a ranked choice voting contest on a cast ballot, when that ballot becomes inactive and cannot be advanced in the tabulation for a contest because there are no further valid rankings on the ballot for continuing contest options.
Mark that falls wholly or partially inside a contest option position.
A text-based language used to organize and present information on the World Wide Web.
Synonyms: XML
A mark on a paper ballot that appears to be unrelated to the act of indicating a voter's selection. Examples include: a mark made unintentionally by a voter that is obviously not related to making a selection; a hesitation mark, a dot within or outside of the contest option position made by resting a pen or pencil on the ballot; written notes or identifying information not related to indication of the voter's selection; or printing defects.
Synonyms: inadvertent mark, random mark, stray mark
Looking at voting system reliability, a failure is an event that results in:
- loss of one or more functions,
- degradation of performance resulting in a device that is unable to perform its intended function for longer than 10 seconds,
- automatic reset, restart, or reboot of the voting device, operating system or application software, requiring an unanticipated intervention by a person in the role of election worker or technician before normal operation can continue, or
- error messages or audit log entries indicating that a failure has occurred.
Ratio of the number of failures that occur to the volume of data processed.
Flaw in design or implementation that may result in the qualities or behavior of the voting system deviating from the qualities or behavior that are anticipated, including those specified in the VVSG or in manufacturer-provided documentation.
A system that continues to operate after the failure of a computer or network component.
Standards for federal computer systems developed by NIST. These standards are developed when there are no existing industry standards to address federal requirements for system interoperability, portability of data and software, and computer security.
Synonyms: FIPS
(n) Result of a formal evaluation by a test lab or accredited expert.
Synonyms: verdict
A gateway system designed to prevent unauthorized access to a private network or intranet that is connected to the internet. A firewall can be implemented in either hardware or software, or a combination of both.
A specific class of software encoded directly into a hardware device that controls its defined functions and provides the low-level control for the computer's specific hardware (such as the firmware that initially boots an operating system).
Exhaustive verification of every system function and combination of functions cited in the manufacturer's documentation. The FCA verifies the accuracy and completeness of the system's Voter Manual, Operations Procedures, Maintenance Procedures, and Diagnostic Testing Procedures.
Synonyms: FCA
Test performed to verify or validate the accomplishment of one or more functions.
Election in which all eligible voters, regardless of party affiliation, are permitted to select candidates to fill public office and/or vote on ballot measures.
A system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of spatial or geographical data. GIS systems are used to validate voting district boundaries and may be integrated with the voter registration system.
Synonyms: GIS
Describes units of geopolitical geography so that they can be associated with contests, offices, ballot styles, and election results.
Synonyms: GpUnit
Counting ballot sheets and/or selections on ballot sheets by human examination.
The physical, tangible, mechanical, or electromechanical components of a system.
Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 2002 to make sweeping reforms to the nation's voting process. HAVA addresses improvements to voting systems and voter access that were identified following the 2000 election.
Synonyms: HAVA
Statement by a manufacturer indicating the capabilities, features, and optional functions as well as extensions that have been implemented.
Synonyms: implementation conformance statement
Voting that occurs in an official location under the supervision of election workers.
Without assistance from an election worker or other person.
The mechanism by which a selection for a specific contest option automatically selects other linked contest options. An example is a straight party selection that causes indirect selections for all contest options of the identified party.
Protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction in order to provide integrity, confidentiality, and availability.
Synonyms: IS
Examination of a product design, product, process, or installation and determination of its conformity with specific requirements.
A specific combination of display format and control or navigation options that enable voters to perceive and interact with the voting system.
The extent to which systems from different manufacturers and devices with different system configurations can communicate with each other.
A hardware or software application that detects and reports a suspected security breach, policy violation, or other compromise that may adversely affect the network.
Synonyms: IDS
Activities involving handling of cryptographic keys and other related security parameters (such as passwords) during the entire life cycle of the keys, including their generation, storage, establishment, entry and output, zeroization, and revocation.
Systems engineering concept that identifies the phases that a system passes through, from concept to retirement. There are different concerns and activities associated with each phase of the life cycle.
Generic term used in election contexts to signify a town, village or city contained within an election jurisdiction, such as a county.
Equipment and system readiness tests whose purpose is to detect malfunctioning devices and improper election-specific setup before the equipment or systems are used in an election. Election officials conduct L&A tests prior to the start of an election as part of the process of setting up the system and the devices for an election according to jurisdiction practices and conforming to any state laws.
Synonyms: L&A, LAT
Fault in software, firmware, or hardwired logic.
Condition signifying that, for a given input, a computer program will satisfy the program specification and produce the required output.
An interaction mode with accessibility features for voters with no use of one or both hands or low dexterity.
Mark in a contest selection position of a paper ballot that meets requirements for detection by a scanner.
Mark in a contest selection position of a paper ballot that cannot be detected as readable or marginal by a scanner, and may require human adjudication.
A vote variation which requires the winning candidate to receive more than half of the votes cast. If no candidate wins an outright majority, a runoff election may be held between the top two vote-getters.
Software or firmware intended to perform an unauthorized process that will have adverse impact on the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of a system. For example, a virus, worm, Trojan horse, or other code-based entity that infects a host. Spyware and some forms of adware are also examples of malware.
Synonyms: malicious code
Paper ballot marked by a voter using a writing utensil. The paper ballot is the independent voter verifiable record.
Synonyms: MMPB
Entity with ownership and control over a voting system submitted for testing.
An intentional mark in a contest selection position of a paper ballot that does not meet the requirements for a reliably detectable selection, and therefore requires human adjudication. A marginal mark may be determined to indicate a selection, depending on state law.
Synonyms: marginal mark
Ballot that contains all of a voter's selections.
A member of a uniformed service in active service, including army, navy, air force, marine corps, coast guard and merchant marine, and their spouses and dependents.
Ratio of the misfeed total to the total ballot volume.
A structural unit of a software program that serves a specific function for the program or that serves to make the program modular in structure for the purposes of easier understanding and maintenance.
Authentication mechanism requiring two or more of the following:
- something you know (such as a password),
- something you have (such as a token),
- something you are (for example, biometric authentication).
Contest in which multiple candidates are elected to fill a specified number of seats.
Term as used in election contexts to signify a jurisdiction such as city, town, or village that has some form of local government for which elections are generally conducted.
Vote variation in which the voter is entitled to allocate a fixed number of votes (N) over a list of M contest options or write-in options, with the constraint that at most 1 vote may be allocated to a given contest option. This usually occurs when multiple seats are concurrently being filled in a governing body such as a city council or school board where candidates contend for at-large seats. The voter is not obliged to allocate all N votes. 1-of-M is N-of-M voting where N = 1.
Report of the results of independent testing of a voting system by a Voting System Test Lab (VSTL) delivered to the EAC with a recommendation about granting a certification number.
Federal organization tasked with assisting in the development of voting system standards. NIST develops and maintains standards for a wide array of technologies. NIST scientists assist the EAC in developing testable standards for voting systems.
Synonyms: NIST
Contest where eligibility to vote in that contest is independent of political party affiliation.
Functional failure that requires the manufacturer or highly trained personnel to repair.
Elected office for which candidates appear on the ballot without political party designation.
Primary election held to narrow the field of candidates in non-party-specific contests.
Memory in which information can be stored indefinitely with no external power applied.
Document providing further guidance and explanation on the requirements and procedures of the EAC's Voting System Certification or Voting System Testing Lab (VSTL) programs. NOCs may be issued in response to a clarification request from a Voting System Test Lab or an EAC registered manufacturer. EAC may also issue NOCs when it determines general clarifications are necessary.
Operational test conducted on voting devices during an election by real voters to establish confidence that the voter verifiable paper record is produced correctly when assistive technology is used. Devices subjected to observational testing are used for normal collection of votes; the votes collected are included in the election tally.
A position established by law with certain associated rights and duties.
Partisan primary election in which the voter may choose a political party at the time of voting and vote in party-specific contests associated with that party, along with non-party-specific contests presented at the same election. Some states require voters to publicly declare their choice of party at the polling place, after which the election worker provides or activates the appropriate ballot. Other states allow the voters to make their choice of party within the privacy of the voting booth.
Synonyms: pick-your-party primary
Computer software with its source code (human readable code) made available with a license in which the copyright holder provides the rights to study, change, and distribute the software to anyone and for any purpose. Open source software may:
- be developed in a collaborative public manner;
- be reviewed by multiple professional and amateur programmers;
- require a fee and be licensed like other software;
- be fully open source or may have only a portion of the software open source.
Voting system that tabulates votes marked in contest option positions on the surface of a paper ballot.
A U.S. citizen who is living outside of the United States and is eligible to vote in their last place of residence in the United States.
Occurs when the number of selections made by a voter in a contest is more than the maximum number allowed.
Synonyms: over-vote
A piece of paper, or multiple sheets of paper, on which all contest options of a given ballot style are printed.
A single piece of paper that forms part of a paper ballot. Paper ballots may contain multiple sheets.
The face of a paper ballot sheet. A paper ballot may have two sides.
Elected office for which candidates may appear on the ballot with a political party designation.
Primary election held to narrow the field of candidates in party-specific contests.
Contest where eligibility to vote in that contest is restricted based on political party affiliation or lack of any affiliation. The affiliation might be the registered affiliation of the voter or it might be an affiliation declared at the time of voting.
Selecting contest options across multiple contests in a predetermined pattern intending to signal one's identity to someone else. The possibility of pattern voting can be an issue for publishing Cast Vote Records (CVR) because it may compromise voter privacy if there are enough selections in each published CVR to make it likely a selection pattern might be unique.
An evaluation method that enables researchers to search for vulnerabilities in a system.
Synonyms: Pen Testing
Assistive technology belonging to voters rather than any supplied with the voting system.
Any information about an individual maintained by an agency, including:
- information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual's identity, such as name, social security number, date and place of birth, mother's maiden name, or biometric records; and
- any other information that can be linked to an individual, such as medical, educational, financial, and employment information.
Synonyms: PII
Inspection by a voting system test lab (VSTL) that compares the voting system components submitted for certification testing to the manufacturer's technical documentation and confirms that the documentation submitted meets the national certification requirements. Includes witnessing the executable system being built to ensure that the certified release is built from the tested components.
Synonyms: PCA
An association of individuals under whose name a candidate may appear on a ballot.
Any unit of government, such as counties, cities, school districts, and water and conservation districts having authority to hold elections for public offices or on ballot measures.
Physical address of a polling place.
Location at which voters may cast in-person ballots under the supervision of election workers during one or more specific time periods.
Synonyms: poll, polling station
A post-election audit that involves hand-counting a sample of votes on paper records, then comparing those counts to the corresponding vote totals originally reported:
- as a check on the accuracy of election results, and
- to detect discrepancies using accurate hand-counts of the paper records as the benchmark.
Election administration division corresponding to a geographic area that is the basis for determining which contests the voters legally residing in that area are eligible to vote on.
Synonyms: polling district, tabulation district
Counting ballots in the same precinct in which those ballots have been cast.
A subdivision of a precinct which arises when a precinct is split by two or more election districts that may require different ballot styles.
Synonyms: split, split precinct, sub-precinct
Ballot style that includes all presentational details required to generate a ballot. This may include language, ordering of contests and candidates, and structural content such as headers.
Primary election in which voters choose the delegates to the presidential nominating conventions allotted to their states by the national party committees.
Election held to determine which candidates qualify to appear as contest options in subsequent elections.
A property of a voting system that is designed and deployed to enable voters to obtain a ballot, and mark, verify, and cast it without revealing their ballot selections or selections of language, display and interaction modes to anyone else. This does not preclude the ability of a voter to request assistance under state law.
The secret part of an asymmetric key pair that is typically used to digitally sign or decrypt data.
Standard that specifies requirements to be fulfilled by a product or a group of products, to confirm it can perform its intended task.
Electronic device that includes software. Most electronic voting devices include application logic (software) and are, therefore, programmed devices.
A vote variation used in multi-seat contests where the votes allowed in the contest are distributed to the selected candidates proportionally depending on the number of selections. This may result in candidates receiving fractional votes.
A failsafe ballot provided to a voter whose eligibility for a regular ballot cannot be immediately determined. The ballot may be counted or further processed depending on state law.
Synonyms: affidavit ballot
Public part of an asymmetric key pair that is typically used to verify digital signatures or encrypt data.
A set of roles, policies, and procedures used to establish greater trust in the authenticity of a digital certificate and for use in creating, managing, distributing, using, storing, and revoking digital certificates.
Synonyms: PKI
An abbreviated logic and accuracy test of voting equipment, pre-announced in public media and open to public attendance, usually in conformance with specific election calendar timing.
An optical, 2-D machine-readable representation of data that conform to the accepted standard.
Synonyms: Quick Response code
- which allows each voter to rank contest options in order of the voter's preference,
- in which votes are counted in rounds using a series of runoff tabulations to defeat contest options with the fewest votes, and,
- which elects a winner with a majority of final round votes in a single-winner contest and provides proportional representation in multi-winner contests.
Synonyms: IRV, RCV, instant run-off voting, ranked order
Cast ballot that has been successfully accepted and initially processed.
Synonyms: scanned ballot
Vote variation that allows voters to remove elected representatives from office before their terms of office expire. The recall may involve not only the question of whether a particular officer should be removed, but also the question of naming a successor in the event that there is an affirmative vote for the recall.
Recorded ballot that can be individually retrieved and included or excluded from further processing.
Re-examination, and possibly retesting, of a voting system that was modified after being previously certified. The object of recertification is to determine if the system as modified still conforms to the requirements.
(n) Preserved evidence of activities performed or results achieved (for example, forms, reports, test results). (v) To create a record.
A ballot for which there is an associated cast vote record.
Repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election, whether manually or electronically, that is used to determine the accuracy of an initial count.
Self-contained, time-stamped, archival record, such as a printout or analogous electronic file that is produced at a specific time and subsequently protected from modification.
Ratio of the report total error to the report total volume.
Geographical area in which reported totals or counts are reported (for example, an election jurisdiction, precinct, or election district).
Ability to obtain the same test results by using the same test method on identical test items in different testing laboratories with different operators using different equipment.
Vote that could not be allocated to a specific contest option due to an undervote or overvote.
The ability to recover gracefully from error conditions and unexpected circumstances. For example, manually marked paper preserves evidence of exceptions that can advise both adjudication and audit to achieve better interpretation of original voter intent.
Contest selections and if applicable unselected contest options that have been checked by the voter before casting, to determine if they match voter intent.
The process of identifying the risks to system security and determining the probability of occurrence, the resulting impact, and safeguards that would mitigate this impact.
Post-election tabulation audit procedure for checking a sample of ballots (or voter verifiable records) that is guaranteed to have a large, pre-specified chance of correcting the reported outcome if the reported outcome is wrong (that is, if a full hand-count would reveal an outcome different from the reported outcome).
Synonyms: RLA
Election to select a winner following a primary election or a general election, in which no candidate in the contest received the required minimum percentage of the votes cast. The two candidates receiving the most votes for the contest in question proceed to a runoff election.
A vote variation for single-seat contests, in which voters give each candidate a score, the scores are added (or averaged), and the candidate with the highest total is elected.
Synonyms: range voting
An elected office position that a single officeholder may occupy for a term of office.
Feature of a voter-facing scanner that reviews the ballot for possible marking mistakes, informs the voter, and presents an opportunity to cast as-is or return the ballot.
An inquiry into the potential existence of security flaws in a voting system. Includes an analysis of the system's software, firmware, and hardware, as well as the procedures associated with system development, deployment, operation, and management.
Management, operational, and technical controls (that is, safeguards or countermeasures) prescribed for an information system to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system and its information.
A metric associated with the amount of work (that is, the number of operations) that is required to break a cryptographic algorithm or system.
Quality of a voting system or voting device where a previously undetected change or fault in software cannot cause an undetectable change or error in election outcome.
Synonyms: SI
Human readable computer instructions that, when compiled or interpreted, define the functionality of a programmed device. Source code can be written by humans or by computers.
A targeted attack by hackers, using bogus emails, that attempts to get the victim to provide login information or personal information to the hackers. Spear Phishing attempts may appear to originate from legitimate, known sources, such as organizational IT or known vendors.
Primary election or general election that is not regularly scheduled. A special election may be combined with a scheduled election.
(A ballot) To mark or otherwise alter a ballot so it indicates in a human-readable manner that the ballot is not to be cast.
A ballot that has been issued to a voter but will not be cast, usually because it has been incorrectly marked or impaired in some way.
A document that provides requirements, specifications, guidelines, or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes, and services are fit for their purpose.
Explicit voter selection that overrides or supplements the vote selections made by a straight party voting option. Straight party overrides may be subject to state election rules for how they work or whether they are allowed.
Mechanism that allows voters to cast a single vote to select all candidates on the ballot from a single political party.
The portion of a street between two consecutive cross streets that can be assigned to a precinct.
Software that aids in developing, maintaining, or using other software, for example, compilers, loaders and other utilities.
Encryption system that uses the same key for encryption and decryption. This key must be kept secret.
Synonyms: secret key cryptography
Administrative unit that is the entire scope within which the voting system is used (for example, a county). The system extent corresponds to the top-level reporting context for which the system generates reports.
Inductive coil used in some hearing aids to allow reception of an audio band magnetic field signal instead of an acoustic signal. The magnetic or inductive mode of reception is commonly used in conjunction with telephones, auditorium loop systems, and other systems that provide the required magnetic field output.
Process of totaling votes.
Synonyms: count
A report containing the counts associated with ballots tabulated for a given election district.
Tactile controls are discernable or perceptible by touch using hands, feet, or other parts of the body. (Does not include touch screens.) Dual switches are a form of tactile controls that can be used by voters with minimal use of their hands.
Manufacturer documentation relating to the voting system, which can include manuals, description of components, and details of architectural and engineering design.
Synonyms: TDP
Procedure used to determine one or more characteristics of a given product, process, or service according to a specified procedure for conformity assessment. A test may be an operational test or a non-operating test (for example, an inspection).
A set of marked ballots with a predetermined outcome. Used for logic and accuracy testing of a voting system.
Specified technical procedure for performing a test, procedures by which tests are derived, or a combination of these.
Document created prior to testing that outlines the scope and nature of testing, items to be tested, test approach, resources needed to perform testing, test tasks, risks, and schedule.
Implementation of a set of operational tests for a particular object (such as a specific voting system) or class of objects (such as all voting systems that can interpret the language in which the test data are expressed).
Software, firmware, or hardwired logic that is neither application logic nor COTS. This includes, for example, general-purpose software developed by a third party that is either customized (for example, ported to a new platform, as is Windows Embedded Compact), not widely used, or source-code generated by a COTS package.
Something a user possesses and controls, typically a key or password, that is used to authenticate an identity.
Synonyms: authentication token, cryptographic token
A vote-capture device that utilizes a computer screen to display the ballot and allows the voter to indicate their selections by touching designated locations on the screen.
An urban area that has a name, defined boundaries, and local government, and that is generally larger than a village and smaller than a city. Term used in New England, New York, and Wisconsin to refer to the equivalent of the civil township in these states.
A widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to a county, with some form of local government for which it generally conducts elections.
Synonyms: civil township
Occurs when the number of voter selections in a contest is less than the maximum number allowed for that contest or when no selection is made. The number of undervotes is equal to the number of votes lost, for example, if one selection is made in a vote for 3 out of 5 candidates contest, the number of undervotes or votes lost is two.
Synonyms: under-vote
Act of Congress in 1986 requiring that the states and territories allow certain groups of citizens to register and vote absentee in elections for Federal offices.
Synonyms: UOCAVA
An overseas voter or an active duty member of the U.S. military, either within or outside the United States, including any accompanying spouse and family members who are eligible to vote in their last place of residence in the United States. The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act is commonly referred to as UOCAVA.
Effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with which a specified set of users can achieve a specified set of tasks in a particular environment. Usability in the context of voting refers to voters being able to cast valid votes as they intended quickly, without errors, and with confidence that their contest selections were recorded correctly. It also refers to the usability of the setup and operation of voting equipment in the polling place.
Testing that encompasses a range of methods that examine how users in the target audience actually interact with a system, in contrast to analytic techniques such as usability inspection.
Functional failure that can be remedied by a troubleshooter or election official using only knowledge found in voting equipment user documentation.
See contest option vote.
Process of evaluating a system or component during or at the end of the development process to determine whether it satisfies specified requirements.
A display format in which contest options and other information are displayed on screen or paper for perception using sight.
Indication of support for a particular contest option.
A physical location where voters from multiple precincts may cast their ballots.
Voting style or feature, including but not limited to the following: approval voting, baseline voting, cumulative voting, N-of-M voting, proportional voting, ranked choice voting, score voting and super majority voting.
Method of voting by which eligible voters are mailed ballots and information packets by the local election jurisdiction. Voters may be able to return their marked ballots by mail, bring them to an election office, or drop them off in secure drop boxes.
Synonyms: VBM, all-mail voting, mail voting, postal voting
An electronic voting device that is used directly by a voter to make selections on a ballot.
Person permitted to cast a ballot.
A cognitive construct, formed by the voter, that they attempt to express through actions taken to mark, verify, and cast the issued ballot.
A standard for counting ballots that aims to ensure that ballots are counted in accordance with the goals of the voter, using written rules for both human processes and machine algorithms to ensure that all ballots marked in a similar way are counted in the same way.
A voting system feature that provides the voter an opportunity to verify that their contest selections are being recorded correctly before the ballot is cast.
In DRE systems, a paper document containing evidence of a voter's contest selections that they can check before officially casting the ballot.
Synonyms: VVPAT
An electronic voting device that:
- accepts hand-marked or BMD-produced paper ballots one sheet at a time;
- is usually used for in-person voting;
- permits election workers to open and close the polls; scans a ballot and rejects it if either unreadable or un-processable; detects, interprets and validates contest selections; notifies the voter of voting exceptions (such as undervotes or overvotes) or unreadable marks; stores accepted ballots in a secure container; sorts or otherwise marks ballots or ballot images that need subsequent human review; and tabulates and reports contest results after polls are closed. This unit was previously referred to as precinct count optical scanner or PCOS.
Synonyms: PCOS, precinct-count optical scanner
Device that is part of the voting system.
Entire array of procedures, people, resources, equipment, and locations associated with conducting elections.
A collection of activities including ballot issuance, voter interaction with the vote-capture device, voting, verification, and casting.
The location within a polling place where voters may record their votes. A voting station includes the area, location, booth, or enclosure where voting takes place.
Equipment (including hardware, firmware, and software), materials, and documentation used to:
- define elections and ballot styles,
- configure voting equipment,
- identify and validate voting equipment configurations,
- perform logic and accuracy tests,
- activate ballots,
- capture votes,
- count votes,
- handle needing special treatment,
- generate reports,
- export election data,
- archive election data, and
- and produce records in support of audits.
The executable code and associated configuration files needed for the proper operation of the voting system.
Privately owned testing laboratories that test voting systems (and other election systems) for conformance to the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) or to other requirements, including individual state requirements. VSTLs are periodically reviewed for conformance to National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) administered by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST).
Synonyms: VSTL
Testing based on an analysis of the internal structure of the component or system.
A wireless networking technology that uses radio waves to provide high-speed Internet network connections.
A network that connects computers across metropolitan, regional, and national boundaries. The internet is an example of a WAN.
Synonyms: WAN
Connectivity using electro-magnetic waves instead of wire connections.
A type of contest option that allows a voter to specify a candidate, usually not already listed as a contest option. Depending on election jurisdiction rules, in some cases only previously approved names will be considered as valid write-in contest selections.
A tabulation report produced at the opening of polls to check that there are no stored votes.