Voting System Certification

from a NIST-certified testing lab that approves the proposed modification, or that the modifications do not warrant examination by the testing lab.

After receiving the request, the Secretary of State will determine whether to review the modifications through the administrative review process, whether or not a formal process is necessary, and whether or not an in-person examination is required. When the review is completed, the Secretary of State will notify the vendor in writing whether the modification is approved or denied.

Recertification

The Texas Election Code requires electronic pollbooks to be recertified annually.9 The vendor must submit a new application by October 1st of the year before the system will be used in a Texas election. The vendor will not be required to go through technical examination again, but the Secretary of State’s office reserves the right to request it along with an additional in-person examination before recertification is granted or denied. The Secretary of State will issue a decision within 30 days of receiving the application.

Voting System Certification

Before a voting system can be used in an election it must be certified by the Secretary of State and meet several requirements found in Section 122.001 of the Texas Election Code, including:

• Preserving the secrecy of the ballot;

• Preventing counting votes on offices/measure on which voter is not entitled to vote;

• Preventing counting votes by same voter for more than one candidate for same office;

• Preventing counting a vote on the same office or measure more than once; and

• Providing records from which the operation of the voting system may be audited.

9 Tex. Elec. Code. § 31.014.

The process for a vendor to become certified begins with the vendor completing a Notice of Intent to Seek Certification. This form is completed first to secure an available date for testing of their system.

The vendor then submits the following items to the Secretary of State no later than 45 days prior to examination:

• their application containing all necessary forms10;

• their user operating and maintenance manuals;

• training materials;

• final reports from an EAC-accredited independent testing laboratory;

• a change log detailing changes from any previously certified system or component; and

• application fees.

After all application requirements are submitted and received by the office, a time will be set to physically examine the voting systems.

To allow examiners to test the accuracy of the voting system, the Secretary of State will supply sample ballot templates which they shall furnish at least two weeks prior to examination.

During the examination, the application must demonstrate installation of the Secretary of State’s copy of software/firmware received from the independent testing laboratory. The applicant demonstrates their system and explains how it meets all requirements listed in Form 101.11

The Secretary of State has the authority to prescribe additional procedures for approval of electronic voting systems. 12 There are multiple testing requirements for voting equipment by law, including:

10 Voting Systems Examination and Certification Information, sos.state.ts.us, https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/laws/votingsystems.shtml (last visited Dec. 12, 2022). 11 Voting System Certification – Form 101, https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/forms/form101.pdf (last visited Dec. 12, 2022). 12 Tex. Elec. Code § 122.001 (c); Keith Ingram, Electronic Voting System Procedures; sos.texas.gov (Apr. 1, 2014), https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/laws/electronic-voting-system-procedures.shtml; Electronic Voting System Procedures, Election Advisory No. 2012-03 https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/laws/advisory2012-03.shtml (last visited Dec. 12, 2022).

Acceptance Testing

This occurs when a new voting system has arrived to the facility. To confirm that the voting system is certified by the Texas Secretary of State, local election officials must perform the acceptance testing which includes verifying the model number and/or name of the system, and verifying software and/or firmware version.13

Hardware Diagnostic Testing

The Hardware Diagnostic testing is completed to ensure the proper functionality of each part of a voting system as required by the Secretary of State.14 The test will include:

• All input and output devices;

• Communications ports;

• System printers;

• System screen displays;

• Boot performance and initializations;

• Firmware and/or software loads;

• Confirmation that screen displays are functioning;

• Verify and adjust to correct date and time, if necessary;

• Verify and adjust calibration, if applicable;

• Confirm that the unit is cleared of votes;

• Confirm that it is configured for the current election; and

• Confirm that physical security devices are in working order (locks, seals, etc.)

13 Tex. Elec. Code § 129.021. 14 Tex. Elec. Code § 129.022.

Logic and Accuracy (L&A) Testing15

The general custodian of election records creates a testing board of at least two people, making every effort to ensure it includes at least one person from each political party that holds a primary election.16 This testing board conducts the L&A testing for the county. L&A testing is statutorily required to be conducted no later than 48 hours prior to voting beginning on a voting system.17 L&A testing must be open to the public and notice of the test must be published on the county’s website, or the bulletin board used for posting notice of the commissioner’s court meetings, only if the county does not maintain a website.18

The general custodian of election records must allow for the testing board to cast votes in a way that allows them to verify that tabulating equipment accurately counts ballots. All devices used in testing will have the public counter set to zero and verified by the testing board.

The general custodian of election records must adopt procedures for testing that:

(1) direct the testing board to cast votes;

(2) verify that each contest position, as well as each precinct and ballot style, on the ballot can be voted and is accurately counted;

(3) include overvotes and undervotes for each race, if applicable to the system being tested;

(4) include write-in votes, when applicable to the election;

(5) include provisional votes, if applicable to the system being tested;

(6) calculate the expected results from the test ballots;

(7) ensure that each voting machine has any public counter reset to zero and presented to the testing board for verification before testing;

(8) require that, for each feature of the system that allows disabled voters to cast a ballot, at least one ballot be cast and verified by a two-person testing board team using that feature; and

15 Tex. Elec. Code § 129.023. 16 Tex. Elec. Code § 129.023 (a). 17 Tex. Elec. Code § 129.023 (b). 18 Id.