Election Equipment Requirements, Testing, and Certifications

Pre-Election Logic and Accuracy Testing Schedule

Pre-Election Logic and Accuracy Testing (Pre-LAT) of all election voting equipment will take place on Monday, October 17 through Thursday, October 20.  For public viewing access, please contact Director Julie Haertsch at 717-771-9604.

Overview

Voting systems and any modifications to a voting system used must meet or exceed federal standards for voting systems and must be approved by the Secretary of State prior to use in any election in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Voting systems used in the Commonwealth of PA are tested end to end before, during, and after each election and go through many certification processes along the way - Dominion Democracy Suite Final Report (PDF) 

The list below provides the numerous tests and certifications that occur throughout an election cycle:

  • Software and Operating System Certifications – 
    • Before and after each election cycle for federal office: certification that the “HASH” values for each piece of software and firmware match the identities on file with the National Software Reference Library (NSRL) with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
  • Pre- and Post-LAT (Logic and Accuracy Testing) – 
    • Certification that testing was completed and produced expected results. This testing is witnessed and approved by a bipartisan Accuracy Certification Board (ACB).
  • File Election Computer Program –
    • One week before the election, the files that contain the actual election project without any of the results is filed with the Commonwealth of PA Department of State.
  • Audit of Voter Verifiable Paper Trail (VVPAT) – 
    • Certification of the audit conducted to verify that the electronic ballots cast were tallied correctly by checking the electronic votes cast with the corresponding paper audit trail for that ballot is conducted. This process is conducted by the York County Board of Elections who sign off on the results.
  • Post-election Audit Verification of Operating System – 
    • Audit of a percentage of machines to compare the “HASH” value to the National Software Reference Library (NSRL) with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This is the same verification that is completed prior the election.
  • Mechanized Report Post Election – 
    • Computer program filed with the Department of State with all file (election) results.
  • Malfunction Report – 
    • Any malfunction in the voting machines, pollbooks, etc, are reported to the Secretary of State
  • Election Process Report – 
    • Reporting to the Department of State including, but not limited to, any ballot discarded, any voting system malfunction, challenges, complaints, provisional ballots, and any results of all audits.