Category Overview

Communications — Election Security Glossary

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

Browse all 53 terms in Communications

Protected Distribution System (pds)

Wire line or fiber optic system that includes adequate safeguards and/or countermeasures (e.g., acoustic, electric, electromagnetic, and physical) to permit its use for the…

Medium consensus2 sources

Red

Information or messages that contain sensitive or classified information that is not encrypted.

Medium consensus2 sources

Responsibility To Provide

An information distribution approach whereby relevant essential information is made readily available and discoverable to the broadest possible pool of potential users.

Medium consensus2 sources

Secure Communications

Telecommunications deriving security through use of National Security Agency (NSA)- approved products and/or protected distribution systems (PDSs).

Medium consensus2 sources

Secure/ Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (s/mime)

A set of specifications for securing electronic mail.

Medium consensus2 sources

Spread Spectrum

Telecommunications techniques in which a signal is transmitted in a bandwidth considerably greater than the frequency content of the original information.

High consensus2 sources

Steganography

The art, science, and practice of communicating in a way that hides the existence of the communication.

Medium consensus2 sources

System Indicator

Symbol or group of symbols in an off-line encrypted message identifying the specific cryptosystem or key used in the encryption.

Medium consensus2 sources

Tempest

A name referring to the investigation, study, and control of unintentional compromising emanations from telecommunications and automated information systems equipment.

Medium consensus2 sources

Traffic Flow Security (tfs)

Techniques to counter Traffic Analysis.

Medium consensus2 sources

Traffic Light Protocol

A set of designations employing four colors (RED, AMBER, GREEN, and WHITE) used to ensure that sensitive information is shared with the correct audience.

Medium consensus2 sources

Traffic Padding

The generation of spurious instances of communication, spurious data units, and/or spurious data within data units.

Medium consensus2 sources

By ESG Editorial Team · Drawing on EAC, CISA, professional associations, and 25+ sources on election communications

Election communications covers the public messaging, official notices, and information flows that surround an election. It includes voter outreach (registration deadlines, polling place locations, what to bring on election day), official communications during and after the election (results release, certification announcements, incident disclosures), and the information environment that election officials operate within.

Why this category matters for election security is that the public's trust in an election depends in part on the quality of communication around it. Confusing communications, late disclosures, or inconsistent messaging can undermine confidence even when the underlying procedures are sound. Conversely, clear, timely, and consistent communication can strengthen public trust even when problems occur.

Election communications also have a defensive dimension. The information environment around an election is a venue for influence operations, misinformation, and disinformation. Defending that environment requires accurate, well-timed, and well-targeted official communications that reach voters through the channels they actually use.

The terminology in this category covers both the work of communicating with the public and the work of defending the information environment. The concepts here are practical. They describe the work of getting accurate information to voters and supporting media coverage.

How These Terms Relate

These concepts together describe the discipline of election communications. The terminology covers both the operational work of getting information to voters (voter education, voter notifications) and the responsive work of communicating with the public during and after elections (election night reporting, official statements). The unifying theme is that communication is part of administration, not separate from it. How an election office communicates is part of how the election itself is conducted.