NIST HAVA Efforts

Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC)

The TGDC is charged by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to provide technical guidance on implementing election-related technologies and to foster the development of voluntary, consensus guidelines. The NIST Director chairs the TGDC and NIST staff conduct the committee's technical work in accordance with HAVA. The TGDC page provides access to full details.

National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP)

NIST's NVLAP has established an accreditation program for laboratories that perform testing of voting systems, including hardware and software components. This program will provide for the accreditation of laboratories that test voting systems using standards determined by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The EAC, not NIST, certifies voting systems for use in elections.

National Software Reference Library (NSRL)

NIST's National Software Reference Library collects software from various sources and incorporates file profiles computed from this software into a Reference Data Set of information. This concept can assist in addressing voting systems needs in several areas. Officials could determine that the software used during elections is the expected software. Verification that the software remains the same during distribution, installation, setup, or use is possible, supporting a “chain of custody.”  Full details are available on the NSRL voting page.