L Terms — Election Security Glossary

Abbreviated LBE.

See security label.

Access control protection features of a system that use security labels to make access control decisions.

Use of sophisticated signal recovery equipment in a laboratory environment to recover information from data storage media. Rationale: Term is no longer used in revised version of NIST SP 800- 88. lawf…

A design and programming philosophy that focuses on formally correct and verifiable input handling throughout all phases of the software development lifecycle

The Voting Rights Act outlaws literacy- and language-based voting qualifications or prerequisites. Section 203 recognizes widespread voting discrimination against Alaskan Native, American Indian, Asia…

The language minority provisions of the Voting Rights Act require that when a covered state or political subdivision provides registration or voting notices, forms, instructions, assistance, or other …

A principle for converting votes into seats in List PR systems. After parties and groupings have been allocated seats in an electoral district because they have received full quotas (a) of votes, some…

With respect to INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING, “a candidate who has r eceived the fewest votes among the candidates who remain at any STAGE. Two or more candidates simultaneously become last place candidates …

A ballot permitted by statute to be cast afte r the normal deadline because of an unusual occurrence such as illness or death in the voter’s immediate family. See LATE VOTING.

“A qualified voter is eligible to vote a LATE BALLOT … if the voter has a sickness or physical condition … that originates on or after the day before the last day for submitting an application for a b…

Used in response messages. Location optionally includes this element to specify the latitude and longitude of a voter’s voting location. Attribute Multiplicity Type Attribute Description Latitude 1 fl…

Non-citizens who are lawfully authorized to live permanently within the United States.

COTS product solutions Commercial information assurance (IA) and IA-enabled information technolog y (IT) components used in layered solutions approved by the National Security Agency (NSA) to protect …

The principle that a security architecture should be designed so that each entity is granted the minimum system resources and authorizations that the entity needs to perform its function.

The principle that a security architecture should be designed in a way that minimizes 1) the number of components that require trust; and 2) the extent to which each component is trusted.

A concept relating to software transparen cy in the use of extrinsic code. A COTS or THIRD- PARTY CALLABLE UNIT that does not “throw exceptions when exceptional conditions occur” and hence must be war…

Old or outdated voting systems that no longer meet current standards.

In the NICE Framework, cybersecurity work where a person: Provides legally sound advice and recommendations to leadership and staff on a variety of relevant topics within the pertinent subject domain;…

A holiday established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year.

A person “entitled to vote, and who do vote, at the time and in the manner prescribed in and by such statute upon the public question submitted; and for the purpose of ascertaining what is the percent…

An “individual whose application for voter re gistration was accepted, processed, and verified as provided by law.” Mont. Code Ann. §13-1-101(18).

The requirement that voters with poor vision be able to read a BALLOT and any accompanying instructions. A HUMAN FACTOR identified in the 2007 VVSG.

A ballot measure that proposes to amend a law.

The act or process of formal confirmation of a law.

The “power of the voters to appr ove or reject legislation which has been referred to them by the Legislature.” 3 Guam Code Ann. §17102(c).

A term used in Latin America for an umbreslla list including two or more sub-lists which receive votes separately byt whose votes are counted together for the purposes of seat allocation in some List …

Rating assigned to an information system indicating the extent to which protection measures, techniques, and procedures must be applied. High, Medium, and Basic are identified levels of concern. A sep…

Extent to which protective measures, techniques, and procedures must be applied to information systems and networks based on risk, threat, vulnerability, system interconnectivity considerations, and i…

A mechanical device that registers votes on c ounters through a system of rods and gears. Invented in 1892, the function of the lever machin e, according to its inventor, was “to protect mechanically …

A “voting system on which the voter casts a vote by pressing a lever and the vote is mechanically recorded by the machine.” N. C. Gen. Stat. §163.165.4A(a1). Lieutenant Governor Chief election officer…

Machine that directly records a voter’s choices via mechanical lever-actuated controls into a counting mechanism that tallies the votes without using a physical ballot.

The top election official in the states of Alaska and Utah.

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 cycl…

A semiconductor device that emits light when curre nt is applied to it. The diodes have an extremely long life and do not have fragile fila ments as do ordinary light bulbs. Abbreviated LED.

“Every voting device or booth shall be provided with a means of providing sufficient light to enable voters while in the voting booth to read the ballots or ballot labels.” 15 Del. Code Ann. §5001A(b)…

A social-media feature that allows users to express a positive reaction or support to content

A weighted factor based on a subjective analysis of the probability that a g iven threat is capable of exploiting a given vulnerability or a set of vulnerabilities.

A ballot with some, but not all of the contests that other voters are entitled to vote on in an election.

An interaction mode with accessibility features for voters with no use of one or both hands or low dexterity.

COMSEC maintenance restricted to fault isolation, removal, and replacement of plug-in assemblies. Soldering or unsoldering usually is prohibited in limited maintenance. See full maintenance.

A “political group which organizes for the purpos e of selecting candidates for electors for President and Vice-President.” Alaska Stat. §15.60.010(14).

An electoral systemused in multi-member districts in which electors have more than one vote, but fewer votes than there are candidates to be elected. The candidates with the highest vote totals win th…

An optical fiber that carries RED signal or that originates/terminates in RED equipment or system.

Elimination of unintentional signals or noise induced or conducted on a telecommunications or information system signal, power, control, indicator, or other external interface line.

Unintentional signals or noise induced or conducted on a telecommunications or information system signal, power, control, indicator, or other external interface line.

The following Office of Management and Budget (OMB)-defined process areas common to virtually all federal agencies: Case Management, Financial Management, Grants Management, Human Resources Management…

Encryption of information between nodes of a communications system.

A tool to shorten links, which can be used to circumvent bans or disguise websites

League of Women Voters A nonpartisan political organization founded in 1920 and dedicated to promoting an open governmental system and educating the pub lic about voting methods and voting rights. Abb…

A system in which each participant party or grouping presents a list of candidates for an electoral district, voters vote for a party, and parties receive seats in proportion to their overall share of…

A list of the individuals that have registered on an electoral roll where a voter resides, as a prerequisite for being entitled to vote.

Information system protection in which each protected object has a list of all subjects authorized to access it. (CNSSI-4009) (NISTIR)

A “board established by special law in a particular city or town to prep are lists of persons of voting age resident in the city or town and perf orm certain other duties in connection with said lists…

Governmental jurisdictions below the level of the state including - counties, cities, districts, boroughs, and parishes.

Access to an organizational information system by a user (or proces s acting on behalf of a user) communicating through a direct connection without the use of a network.

Also see MAN and WAN. A computer network that connects computer and other devices such as printers in a limited area such as a school, office building or home.

Organization responsible for generating and signing user certificates in a public key infrastructure (PKI)-enabled environment.

The “canvass of the precinct election returns.” Wisc. St. 5.02(9). Similarly, Texas Elec. Code §1.005(11).

1. An election in a political subdivision that is sma ller than a state. A “a municipal, county, or district election.” Cal. Elec. Code §328. 2. Any “election which deals with the selection of persons…

The “the municipal clerk or principal officer ch arged with duties relating to elections.” Minn. Stat. §200.02(21).

See hand receipt holder.

(LMD) The component in electronic key management system (EKMS) that provides electronic management of key and other COMSEC material and serves as an interface to the Key Processor. (It is composed of …

EKMS platform providing automated management of COMSEC material and generating key for designated users. (CNSSI-4009) (NISTIR)

A proposal to enact, amend, or repeal a new law, ordinance, or charter at the local government level that is placed on the ballot for approval or rejection by voters.

“‘Local office’ means any elective office other than a state or national office.” Wisc. St. §5.02(9).

A PRIMARY ELECTION for “nominations of candidates entitling the nominated candidates to have their names printed on the official ballots at municipal elections in incorporated cities and towns.” Ariz.…

(LRA) A registration authority with responsibility for a local community.

A “ SPECIAL ELECTION called by the governing body of a local political subdivision in which all registered voters of the local political subdivision may vote.” Utah Code §20A-1-102(36).

Generic term used in election contexts to signify a town, village or city contained within an election jurisdiction.

Used in response messages. ElectionAdministration and ReportingUnit optionally include this element to specify the address and directions to a voter’s voting location. The LatLng element can be includ…

See SEALED.

A record of events that occur in connection w ith an election, used for auditing purposes or to reconstruct happenings during the election. Also, a record of events relating to the design and developm…

A piece of code intentionally inserted into a software system that will set off a malicious function when specified conditions are met.

Fault in software, firmware, or hardwired logic.

(L&A) Testing 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. Juris…

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. Jurisdictions are r…

A means of determining that voting systems will function properly for the election by recording test votes on each machine, verifying that it is possible to vote for each candidate on the ballot and t…

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.

An automated system that controls an individual’s ability to access one or more computer system resources such as a workstation, network, application, or database. A logical access control system requ…

Means for assessing the effectiveness and degree to which a set of security and access control mechanisms meets security specifications. SOURCE: CNSSI-4009

Condition signifying that, for a given input, a computer program will satisfy the program specification and produce the required output.

A conceptual perimeter that extends to all intended users of the system, both directly and indirectly connected, who receive output from the system without a reliable human review by an appropriate au…

Measures resulting from the 2011 London Conference on Cyberspace. (UK 2016)

The descriptive title of a COMSEC item.

In Oregon, a resident who is absent from their place of residence. Possible long term absentee voters include: a person serving in or discharged 30 days or less from the United States Armed Forces, a …

Voting instructions reminding voters that election contests can appear on both the front and back of a ballot.

A PRIMARY ELECTION in which political convention delegates are selected rather than an individual candidate, a “preference” for whom is determined in a separate election. The delegates may not be requ…

A BALLOT that was delivered to a polling place but cannot be accounted for after the election.

A vote that was cast but is not available for ta bulation and that cannot be recovered, or a vote that a voter intended to cast but did not succeed in casting.

1. A random procedure for resolving a TIE VOTE. “In all elections where there is a tie between the two highest candidates for the same office, for all county or precinct offices, it shall be decided b…

The loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability that could be expected to have a limited adverse effect on organizational operations, organizational assets, individuals, other organizations, o…

(LPD) Result of measures used to hide or disguise intentional electromagnetic transmissions.

(LPI) Result of measures used to resist attempts by adversaries to analyze the p arameters of a transmission to determine if it is a signal of interest.

Result of measures used to resist attempts by adversaries to determine t he location of a particular transmitter.

An information system in which all three security properties (i.e., confidentiality, integrity, and availability) are assigned a FIPS PUB 199 potential impact value of low.

For the purposes of determining separation between RED equipment/lines and radio frequency (RF) transmitters, low-power is that which is less than or equal to 100 m Watt (20 dBm) effective isotropic r…

An interaction mode with accessibility features for voters with no use of one or both hands or have low dexterity.

One of the two chambers in a bicameral legislature, usually seen as comprising `the representatives of the people’. It is the more powerful chamber when the powers of the two chambers are unequal.