In releasing the guidelines,"Safeguarding The Vote," David Beirne, executive director of the Election Technology Council, said, "The Council recognizes that no voting technology is invulnerable, and as with other types of voting systems, it is critical for election administrators around the country to build robust procedures for safeguarding the use of electronic voting systems. Misconceptions concerning the operation of electronic voting systems, if left unanswered, can have a corrosive effect on voter confidence if they are not taken seriously and addressed with clear, factual information."
The published guidelines highlight common practices that county and state election officials can adopt leading up to, during and after Election Day. If adopted in their entirety, these procedures will provide clear evidence of the integrity of their voting systems and will assist in documenting the accuracy and validity of the election results, said the Council in a release. The guidelines list the most common perceived threats and provide clear mitigation strategies for each.
The integrity of all elections is dependent upon clear procedures to identify potential threats and detect them after an election is completed. Detection is the critical component when verifying the integrity of an election, said the Council. This is true in both the use of voting technologies and during the exercise of the voting process at the polling place.
