The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is conducting a Request for Information (RFI) to determine interest among organizations in providing technical support services for conducting a voting systems risk assessment, and to obtain comment on the draft statement of work (SOW) for this effort. 

Background and Project Summary
In September 2007 the EAC received recommendations for revising the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) from the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC). These recommendations include many new provisions pertaining to voting system security and integrity.

For the EAC to thoroughly evaluate these draft guidelines it requires a scientifically-founded voting systems risk assessment to be performed. This assessment must encompass the complete range of voting systems technologies – paper-based systems, optical scan, Direct Recording Electronic Devices (DRE), etc. The product of this analysis must be a methodology or model that the EAC, and other stakeholders, can exercise independently without the assistance of specialized experts. This product will serve as an analytical tool to assist the EAC in evaluating tradeoffs, running sensitivity analyses, and making determinations about voting system security requirements for the next version of the VVSG. 

A Request for Information Only
This announcement is not a request for proposal of any kind. This SOW is being published as a preliminary draft for the purpose of collecting comments and questions from prospective bidders. It is for information and planning purposes and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. Further, the EAC is not seeking or accepting unsolicited proposals. The EAC will not pay for any costs associated with the preparation of responses or information provided in response to this RFI, nor reimburse or otherwise pay any costs incurred by any party responding to this announcement. Therefore, any costs associated with an RFI submission are solely at the interested parties’ expense. 

The EAC welcomes all input that will assist in clarifying any elements of this SOW. Any information provided under this RFI is for informational purposes only and will not be released to the public. Any proprietary information submitted must be clearly marked as proprietary and will be protected accordingly. 

How to Submit Comments
Organizations are invited to review the Draft Statement of Work and Risk Assessment Project Summary before submitting comments. Comments should be sent to Matt Masterson by email at MMasterson@eac.gov. All comments must be received no later than 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on April 28, 2008. Please submit as an MS Word or PDF file. It is the EAC’s intention to issue an RFP for this work as soon as possible after comments have been received. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SOW IS PRELIMINARY AND MAY CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY WHEN ISSUED AS AN RFP.