Under California law, a voting system and any modification to a voting system must be approved by the Secretary of State before it can be used in any election.
When a voting system is brought to California for review, the Secretary of State conducts a thorough examination and review of the proposed system that includes:
- Review of the application and documentation;
- End-to-end functional examination and testing;
- Volume testing under election-like conditions of all voting devices used by the voter;
- Security testing that includes a full source code review and penetration testing;
- Accessibility examination and testing; and
- Public hearing and public comment period.
The Secretary of State’s examination and review process is designed to test the system for compliance with the California Voting System Standards. Here is a summary of the key differences between the EAC and California processes:
| Description | EAC | California |
|---|---|---|
| Application & Documentation | A technical data package (TDP) is submitted by the vendor to the EAC. The TDP identifies the voting system design, operation, functionality, hardware, software, security, maintenance, and other system requirements. | The California Voting System Standards section 9 describes the technical data package that shall be submitted by the vendor. |
| Software | Examines system source code for its compliance with the EAC’s Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG). | Examines system source code for compliance with the California Voting Systems Standards. |
| Security | Determines if the system can detect, prevent, log and recover form a broad range of security risks. | Examines the system for compliance with California Voting Systems Standards. |
| Hardware | Evaluates whether the voting system hardware can withstand exposure to environmental conditions, including varying and extreme temperatures, humidity, vibrations, and inconsistent voltage. |
Evaluates the hardware to the California Voting System Standards. |
| Functional | Determines if the voting system can perform each function required by federal law. |
Determines if the voting system can perform to the standards required by the California Voting System Standards. |
| Accessibility | Requires vendor to provide the EAC with results from third-party accessibility testing. |
Independently contracts with third-party accessibility experts to conduct accessibility testing. |
