NIST and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA)
The 2002 Help America Vote Act has given NIST a key role in helping to realize nationwide improvements in voting systems.  To assist the Election Assistance Commission with the development of voluntary voting system guidelines, HAVA established the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) and directs NIST to chair the TGDC. NIST research activities include:

• security of computers, computer networks, and computer data storage used in voting systems;
• methods to detect and prevent fraud;
• protection of voter privacy; and
• the role of human factors in the design and application of voting systems, including assistive technologies for individuals with disabilities (including blindness) and varying levels of literacy
• the recommendation of testing laboratories to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The EAC, not NIST, certifies voting systems for use in elections.

Documents and Material -  Presentations, minutes, papers, etc.
A wealth of material documenting the progress of the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) as well as positions and comments from organizations and individuals is available to the public.  See the "Documents & Meetings" page for a complete listing.