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Election Officials
GLOSSARY OF TERMS DATABASE
| Glossary Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| abandoned ballot | Ballot that the voter did not place in the ballot box or record as cast on DRE before leaving the polling place |
| absent | |
| absentee application | |
| absentee application form | |
| absentee ballot | Ballot cast by a voter unable to vote in person at his or her polling place on Election Day |
| absentee ballot request form | |
| absentee mail process | |
| absentee procedures | |
| absentee vote | |
| absentee voter | |
| absentee voter status | |
| absentee voting by mail | |
| absolute majority | |
| abstain | |
| acceptance of candidacy | |
| acceptance testing | Examination of a voting system and its components by the purchasing election authority (usually in a simulated-use environment) to validate performance of delivered units in accordance with procurement requirements, and to validate that the delivered system is, in fact, the certified system purchased. |
| access | |
| access (verb) | |
| Access Board; access board | Independent federal agency whose primary mission is accessibility for people with disabilities and a leading source of information on accessible design. |
| Access to Campaign Materials Act | |
| accessibility | Measurable characteristics that indicate the degree to which a system is available to, and usable by, individuals with disabilities. The most common disabilities include those associated with vision, hearing and mobility, as well as cognitive disabilities. |
| accessibility requirements | |
| accessible facility | |
| accessible voting station | Voting station equipped for individuals with disabilities. |
| accordance | |
| accreditation | Formal recognition that a laboratory is competent to carry out specific tests or calibrations. |
| accreditation body | (1) Authoritative body that performs accreditation. (2) An independent organization responsible for assessing the performance of other organizations against a recognized standard, and for formally confirming the status of those that meet the standard. |
| Accu-vote optical scan | |
| accuracy | (1) Extent to which a given measurement agrees with an accepted standard for that measurement. (2) Closeness of the agreement between the result of a measurement and a true value of the particular quantity subject to measurement. Accuracy is a qualitative concept and is not interchangeable with precision. Version 1.0 Volume I: Voting System Performance Guidelines Appendix A: Glossary A-4 |
| accuracy for voting systems | Ability of the system to capture, record, store, consolidate and report the specific selections and absence of selections, made by the voter for each ballot position without error. Required accuracy is defined in terms of an error rate that for testing purposes represents the maximum number of errors allowed while processing a specified volume of data. |
| Act of Congress | |
| acting | |
| active candidates | |
| active registered voter | |
| active status | |
| address change |