Category Overview

Certification — Election Security Glossary

50 election security terms in the Certification category, with definitions sourced from NIST, CISA, EAC, and 30+ authoritative documents.

Browse all 50 terms in Certification

Independent Testing Authority (ita)

An Independent Testing Authority (ITA) is a laboratory that tests a vendor's voting system to make sure it follows either the Federal Election Commission's 1990 or 2002 standards.

High consensus3 sources

Intermediate Certification Authority (ca)

A CA that is signed by a superior CA (e.g., a Root CA or another Intermediate CA) and signs CAs (e.g., another Intermediate or Subordinate CA).

Low consensus2 sources

By ESG Editorial Team · Drawing on NIST, EAC, CISA, and 29 authoritative sources on election security

Election system certification is the process by which voting equipment, ballot marking devices, and election management software are tested, approved, and authorized for use in elections. That process operates at two levels: federal and state. At the federal level, the Election Assistance Commission has authority to evaluate voting systems against the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines, a technical standard developed in partnership with voting system vendors, election officials, and security experts. VVSG versions are regularly updated to address emerging security vulnerabilities and incorporate new technical requirements.

Voting system testing laboratories, accredited by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and contracted by vendors, conduct the detailed technical work of evaluating systems against VVSG before federal certification is granted. State certification is a separate but related process. Even after federal certification, each state retains the authority to conduct additional testing, decertification for cause, or conditional certification with state-specific requirements.

This two-tier system (federal guidelines and testing, plus state-level approval and decertification authority) creates both redundancy and the potential for inconsistency across state lines. Some states decertify systems that fail post-election audits or are found to have software vulnerabilities; others decertify due to operational deficiencies or a deliberate choice to shift to newer equipment.

Understanding the certification landscape is essential for election officials evaluating vendor contracts, legislators designing procurement requirements, and journalists covering disputes about voting system security. Certification is not a guarantee of perfection. It is a documented assurance that a system has met a defined set of technical requirements under controlled testing conditions. The subsequent operational environment, including configuration, maintenance, and chain of custody, determines whether that assurance holds in practice.

Key Concepts

Voluntary Voting System Guidelines

The EAC technical standard specifying requirements for voting systems across security, functionality, usability, and accessibility dimensions, updated periodically to reflect new threats.

Voting System Testing Laboratory (vstl)

An independent laboratory accredited by NIST and contracted by vendors to conduct detailed testing of voting systems against VVSG before federal certification is granted.

Election Assistance Commission

The federal agency with authority to certify voting systems against VVSG, providing states with assurance that federally certified systems meet minimum technical and security standards.

State Certification

A state's formal approval to use a federally certified voting system within that state, often requiring additional testing or procedural requirements beyond the federal baseline.

Decertification

The removal of a voting system from approved use in a jurisdiction, typically triggered by security vulnerabilities, operational failures, or audit findings discovered after elections.

Accreditation

The formal authorization of a testing laboratory or assessor to conduct voting system evaluations, separate from the certification of the systems they test.

Software Assurance (swa)

The process of ensuring voting system software has been reviewed, tested, and audited for security vulnerabilities and adherence to VVSG functional requirements.

Logic And Accuracy Testing

Pre-election testing of certified voting systems to verify that the specific configuration deployed in a jurisdiction will accurately record and count votes.

How These Terms Relate

Voting system certification creates a layered approval process distributing testing and approval authority across federal and state actors. The Voluntary Voting System Guidelines establish the baseline technical standard; voting system testing laboratories carry out the detailed evaluation work; and EAC federal certification confirms that the system meets those standards. State certification then applies state-specific requirements and retains authority to decertify systems that fail post-election testing or are found to have software assurance defects. Accreditation of testing laboratories ensures that the evaluators themselves meet quality standards. Logic and accuracy testing bridges certification and operations: even a federally and state-certified system must be verified in its specific deployed configuration before each election. Together, these mechanisms ensure that only rigorously tested systems enter use and that systems found deficient are removed before they can affect election results.