Conformity Magazine - October 2008 - (Page 22)

The EAC requires that VSTLs develop an individual test plan for every voting system evaluated. In the test plan the VSTL will analyze a specific voting system and create system specific test cases, using the test methods and standard lab procedures developed as part of their NVLAP accreditation. The plan produces a set of specific test cases for each system and explains how the set of test cases, together provide a complete and effective evaluation of the specific system to the requirements of the VSS/VVSG. Another critical cooperation is between the EAC’s Certification Program and state certifications. In general, states have only the most general understanding of what is done at the national level. The result is that state testing is often either redundant or alternately misses the same areas missed in the national program. Ideally, the national program should test a core set of specifications common to most states. This saves the individual states from dealing with these issues. State certification can then focus on the specific issues and practices of that individual state. National certification intends to demonstrate the overall capability of a voting system. State certification should seek to identify systems that meet the specific needs of each individual state. There is overlap in these concerns, but there is also a great deal of difference. At this writing, Brian Hancock, the inaugural director of the EAC’s certification program, will be scheduling a meeting in the near future with state certification officials and others. The purpose of the meeting will be to explore ways that closer cooperation can be realized. Potentially one or more pilot efforts will be inaugurated from this collaboration. The ultimate goal of all these efforts is to assure well run, accurate and secure elections. The top priority is that local election officials be able to use the voting system to run good elections, and to create records that prove that they ran a good election. The national and state certification programs could do more, through closer coordination of their efforts, to assure that local officials have the tools they need, and that those tools have been tested and proven to be reliable and effective. It should be noted that, in these efforts by the EAC and state election officials, further improvements are being explored through improved process coordination. The first generation changes focused on launching the EAC (the new federal agency), developing new standards and a new lab accreditation program. Those were needed improvements. In these efforts, the EAC is seeking to bring further improvement Figure 1: Using ISO Guide 17025, NVLAP assures that voting system test laboratories (VSTLs) have management processes, quality systems, and general test methods to evaluate voting systems. 22 Conformity oCtober 2008

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Conformity Magazine - October 2008 Contents Editor's Note FCC Releases Annual Report on National Do-Not-Call Registry Commission Cracks Down (for the Fourth Time!) On Junk Fax Marketer FCC Releases Quarterly Reports on Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Greenpeace Ranks Electronics Manufacturers Standards List For The EU’s Energy Consumption Directive Published EU Commission Publishes Standards List for Directives on Pressure Equipment, Pressure Vessels Standards List for the EU’s Medical Devices Directive Available The IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society: The First Five Years ESD Open Forum Improving Election Security and Accuracy: The Future of Voting System Certification Conformity Assessment and Accreditation: Their Role in the Global Market Design Issues in Extreme EMC Environment Focus On... Test Equipment Buyers Guide Product News Updated Standards List for EU Directive on Active Implantable Medical Devices FDA Warns of Effects from CT Scans on Electronic Medical Devices FDA Provides Report Card on Its PMA Review Process CPSC Releases Import Safety Strategy Other CPSC Actions in the News IEC Standards Update Product Reviews UL Standards Update Telcordia Standards Update From Our “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up” Department Looking Back: Items from Past Issues of Conformity Advertisers

Conformity Magazine - October 2008

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