California Secretary of State - Voting Systems Review

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Top-To-Bottom Review

Secretary of State Debra Bowen began her top-to-bottom review of the voting machines certified for use in California in March 2007. The review was designed to restore the public's confidence in the integrity of the electoral process and to ensure that California voters are being asked to cast their ballots on machines that are secure, accurate, reliable, and accessible. On August 3, 2007, Secretary Bowen announced her decisions regarding which systems in the review will be permitted to be used in the 2008 elections and beyond. The following documents detail Secretary Bowen's decisions.

Decertification/Recertification Decisions Issued by Secretary of State Debra Bowen

Diebold Election Systems, Inc.

Withdrawal of Approval/Conditional Reapproval - October 25, 2007 Revision (.pdf, 9,903KB)
Withdrawal of Approval/Conditional Reapproval - October 25, 2007 Redline Version (.pdf, 64KB)
Post-Election Manual Tally Requirements - October 25, 2007 (.pdf, 56KB)

Hart InterCivic

Withdrawal of Approval/Conditional Reapproval - December 6, 2007 Revision (.pdf, 5,886KB)
Withdrawal of Approval/Conditional Reapproval - December 6, 2007 Red Line Version (.pdf, 5886KB)

Sequoia Voting Systems

Withdrawal of Approval/Conditional Reapproval - October 25, 2007 Revision (.pdf, 10,356KB)
Withdrawal of Approval/Conditional Reapproval - October 25, 2007 Redline Version (.pdf, 67KB)
Post-Election Manual Tally Requirements - October 25, 2007 (.pdf, 56KB)
Letter to Riverside County - October 2, 2007 (.pdf, 114KB)

Elections Systems and Software, Inc.

ES&S Inkavote Plus Conditional Approval - January 2, 2008 (.pdf, 12.4MB)
InkaVote Plus Voting System Accessability Review - January 2, 2008 (.pdf, 697KB)
InkaVote Plus Hearing Transcript (.pdf, 169KB)
InkaVote Plus Source Code Report (.pdf, 172KB)
InkaVote Plus Red Team Report (.pdf, 123KB)
InkaVote Plus Public Hearing Notice (.pdf, 48KB)
Rescission and Withdrawal of Approval (.pdf, 303KB)

UC Final Reports

The University of California has submitted its reports on the findings from the top-to-bottom review. The red team and source code team reports are separated by voting system. The accessibility report contains findings on all of the voting systems that were reviewed. The document review teams submitted their reports on schedule. Their reports will be posted as soon as the Secretary of State ensures the reports do not inadvertently disclose security-sensitive information.

UC Source Code Team Reports:

Principal Investigator's Statement on Protection of Security-Sensitive Information (.pdf, 13.9KB)
Diebold Elections Systems, Inc. (.pdf, 561KB)
Hart InterCivic (.pdf, 573KB)
Sequoia Voting Systems (.pdf, 831KB)

UC Red Team Reports:

Overview by UC Principal Investigator Matt Bishop (.pdf, 303KB)
Diebold Elections Systems, Inc. (.pdf, 498KB)
Hart InterCivic (.pdf, 376KB)
Sequoia Voting Systems (.pdf, 108KB)

UC Document Review Reports:

Diebold Elections Systems, Inc. (.pdf, 402KB)
Hart InterCivic (.pdf, 1028KB)
Sequoia Voting Systems (.pdf, 368KB)

UC Accessibility Report:

Accessibility Report (.pdf, 1.07MB)

Public Hearing

The Secretary of State's office conducted a public hearing on July 30, 2007 in the auditorium of the Secretary of State building at 1500 11th Street in Sacramento.

To watch the archived web cast of top-to-bottom review public hearing, click here.
Top To Bottom Review Public Hearing Notice (.pdf, 58KB)
Public Hearing Agenda (.pdf, 48KB)
Written Public Comment and Testimony
Public Hearing Transcript (.pdf, 48KB)

Press Releases

Press Release - May 9, 2007 (.pdf, 144KB)
Press Release - May 10, 2007 (.pdf, 165KB)
Press Release - June 21, 2007 (.pdf, 138KB)
Press Release - July 27, 2007 (.pdf, 152KB)
Press Release - August 3, 2007 (.pdf, 152KB)
To view Secretary of State Bowen's announcement, please click here.

Security Plans

Secretary of State Security Plan (.pdf, 51KB)
Document Review Security Plan (.pdf, 68KB)
Source Code Review Security Plan (.pdf, 78KB)
Red Team Security Plan (.pdf, 128KB)

Additional Information

Following are a number of documents related to the review, including a "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) document to help people understand how the review will work. The FAQ document will expand over time to address additional questions. If you have questions or would like to see more information added to the FAQ, please send an e-mail to votingsystems@sos.ca.gov.

One-Page Summary - May 9, 2007 (.pdf, 148KB)
Frequently Asked Questions - Revised August 15, 2007 (.pdf, 242KB)
Contract between Secretary of State and University of California Regents to Conduct Top-to-Bottom Review (.pdf, 186KB)
Red Team Test Protocol (.pdf, 138KB)
Public Observation Guidelines (.pdf, 56KB)

Following are the resumes, biographies or curriculum vitae for the Top-To-Bottom Review test teams.

Document Review Team Members

The document reviewers are responsible for providing an analysis of security, accessibility, usability, reliability, accuracy and protection of ballot secrecy based on relevant documentation. The reviewers will have access to documents such as reports from Independent Testing Authorities (ITAs), reports and data from state certification testing, and documentation related to how the systems are designed to be used in an actual election. The document review members will be split into three teams of two to three members to review each voting system subject to the top-to-bottom review.

David Wagner (.pdf, 455KB) Principal Investigator
Aaron Burstein (.pdf, 57KB)
Nathan Good (.pdf, 311KB)
Joseph Hall (.pdf, 229KB)
Candice Hoke (.pdf, 404KB)
Dave Kettyle (.pdf, 167KB)
Deirdre Mulligan (.pdf, 460KB)
Laura Quilter (.pdf, 55KB)
Tom Ryan (.pdf, 125KB)

Source Code Review Team Members
Source code is the computer language that effectively controls how electronic voting systems will operate. The source code reviewers will be split into three teams of six to seven members to review each voting system subject to the top-to-bottom review. For a more detailed description of source code review, click here.

David Wagner

(.pdf, 455KB)

Matt Blaze (.pdf, 72KB)
Joseph Calandrino (.pdf, 62KB)
Arel Cordero (.pdf, 52KB)
Sophie Engle (.pdf, 145KB)
Ariel Feldman (.pdf, 47KB)
J. Alex Halderman (.pdf, 60KB)
Srinivas Inguva (.pdf, 174KB)
Chris Karlof (.pdf, 70KB)
Eric Rescorla (.pdf, 78KB)
Naveen Sastry (.pdf, 138KB)
Hovav Shacham (.pdf, 164KB)
Micah Sherr (.pdf, 108KB)
Till Stegers (.pdf, 62KB)
Dan Wallach (.pdf, 634KB)
Ka-Ping Yee (.pdf, 173KB)
Harlan Yu (.pdf, 54KB)
William Zeller (.pdf, 65KB)

Red Team Members

Red team members are responsible for testing the functions and performance of the voting systems to identify and document any vulnerabilities that may be discovered. The red team members will be split into three teams to review each voting system subject to the top-to-bottom review. For a more detailed description of red team testing in general and the preliminary protocols that will be used in the red team testing that will be conducted as part of the top-to-bottom review, click here.

Matthew Bishop

(.pdf, 934KB)

Robert Abbott (.pdf 203KB)
Elliot Proebstel (.pdf 124KB)
Sujeet Shenoi (.pdf 37KB)
Davide Balzarotti (.pdf 66KB)
Greg Banks (.pdf 12KB)
Marco Cova (.pdf 61KB)
Mark Davis (.pdf 33KB)
Viktoria Felmetsger (.pdf 59KB)
Richard Kemmerer (.pdf 49KB)
William Robertson (.pdf 69KB)
Jacob Stauffer (.pdf 32KB)
Fredrik Valeur (.pdf 74KB)
Giovanni Vigna (.pdf 111KB)

Accessibility Team Members
The accessibility reviewers will examine the accessibility features of systems subject to the Top-to-Bottom Review for voters with disabilities and voters with alternative language requirements.

Noel Runyan

(.pdf 13KB)

James Tobias

(.pdf 20KB)

Archive Page
Contains previously released information and documents.