Conformity Magazine - October 2008 - (Page 30)

A robust audit system essentially becomes a third component in the election process. There would be: • People and administrative procedures • Voting systems • Auditing systems Designed thoughtfully, each provides protections for the vulnerabilities of the other. For critical issues there should be redundant safeguards in the administrative procedures and in the voting system. If in any way both of those sets of safeguards fail, then the audit system should detect the failure and alert officials to it. In contrast to the ineffective attempt to test quality by adding more and more specifications and tests to the voting systems, taking a system-design approach offers real promise. Integrating well-designed audit systems, provided independently of the voting system vendors, builds in new security and accuracy protections at far less total cost than most other improvements. Using each of these elements in a thoughtfully integrated system design offers real promise of substantial improvement. Such a defense-in-depth design stands in real contrast to a nostalgic but flawed return to people and paper, or a naïve reliance on computerized voting systems. Conclusion The United States election system has undergone revolutionary change since the 2000 presidential election. A new federal agency, the EAC has been created and taken leadership in certifying voting systems. A new system of voting system laboratory accreditation has been installed. Fundamental new protections have been introduced in all levels of the election system. The system on which voters will cast their ballots in 2008 is a far different system than the one they voted on eight years ago. What has become manifestly clear is that there are unintended negative consequences to some past actions. The past failure to provide laboratory-verified test methods with the 2002 standard has allowed some equipment flaws to get into the field. The EAC is taking action to develop standardized and verified test methods, but those efforts have not yet been completed. The cost of certification has gone up an order of magnitude since 2000 and appears destined to rise even higher. The challenge is to divine how to retain the improvements while at the same time avoiding the unintended consequences, such as the cost and time required for certification. The opportunity that exists today is to build on the significant changes that have been made, not by doing more of the same, but by launching in new directions. The opportunity is present to develop a system architecture and integrate administrative procedures, equipment and an audit system to provide a system with profound accuracy, fault tolerance and security with defense-in-depth. Stephen Berger is the principle of TEM Consulting, and can be reached at stephen.berger@ieee.org. Notes 1. Maximilian M. Etschmaier, “Voting Machines: Reliability Requirements, Metrics, and Certification,” September 2006. www.omg.org Figure adopted from a presentation, “OMGs MDA and Software Radio,” presented January 25, 2006 at the IEEE 1900 plenary meeting in Boulder, CO by Fred Waskiewicz, Director of Standards Object Management Group, wask@omg.org. Figure 6: Precinct map of Wake Country, North Carolina 2. 3. Figure 7: Key concepts of model-driven architecture (MDA, see Note 3) 30 Conformity oCtober 2008 FAST Link www.conformity.com/2240 http://www.omg.org http://www.conformity.com/2240

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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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