| I. |
Summary
of Voting System Certification Requirements for South Carolina |
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To
receive certification of a voting system in South Carolina, you must:
| 1. |
Receive
qualification by a certified Independent Testing Authority (ITA)
accredited by the National Association of State Election Directors
(NASED) and the State Election Commission (SEC) as meeting or
exceeding the minimum requirements of the national voting system
standards.
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This requirement also applies to revisions of software,
firmware or hardware of systems certified prior to July
1, 1999. |
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| 2. |
Pay a non-refundable examination fee of $1000.00 for a new voting
system and $500.00 for an upgrade to any existing certified
system. |
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| 3. |
Submit
the system for examination and testing by the SEC in Columbia.
System configuration for this process will be supplied by the
SEC. |
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| 4. |
Submit a list of all states or jurisdictions in which that voting
machine has been approved for use. This list must report how
long the machine has been used in the state; contain the name,
address, and telephone number of that state or jurisdiction’s
chief election official; and disclose any reports compiled by
state or local government concerning the performance of the
system. |
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| 5. |
Submit
copies of all contracts and maintenance agreements used in connection
with the sale of the voting system. |
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| 6. |
Conduct,
under the supervision of the SEC and any county election commission,
a field test of any new voting system. This test must be completed
during a scheduled primary, general or special election and
must be held in two or more precincts. |
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| 7. |
All source codes for the system must be placed in escrow by
the manufacturer, at their expense, with the approved software
ITA. |
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| 8. |
After a voting system is approved, any improvements or changes
to the system must be submitted to the SEC for approval and
re-examination if necessary. This requirement does not apply
to the technical capability of a general purpose computer, reader,
or printer. |
| II. |
Examination
Guidelines |
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| 2.1 |
Application Procedures for Examination |
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A
vendor seeking examination of a voting system for certification
in South Carolina must complete an Application for Examination
(Appendix A) and return it to
the S.C. Election Commission with the following: |
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1. |
A
check in the amount of $1000.00 for a new voting system or a check
in the amount of $500.00 for examination of an upgrade to any existing
certified system. This examination fee is nonrefundable. The check
should be made payable to: S.C. Election Commission. |
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2. |
A list of all states or jurisdictions in which the voting system
has been approved for use. This list must state how long the system
has been used in the state; contain the name, address, and telephone
number of that jurisdiction’s chief election official; and disclose
any reports compiled by state or local government concerning the
performance of the machine. |
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3. |
A
copy of the testing report or final summary from both Independent
Testing Authorities (ITA) for software, hardware, and firmware. |
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4. |
A
copy of all contracts and maintenance agreements used in connection
with the voting system. |
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5. |
Training
courses available and the costs associated with that training. |
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6. |
System operator’s manual. |
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All
manuals associated with software and hardware use. |
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8. |
Environmental
requirements for storage, transportation, and operation, including
temperature range, humidity range and electrical supply requirements. |
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9. |
Brief
overview description of the voting system and/or marketing brochures. |
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10. |
List
of files and file structure for use of voting system. |
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| 2.2 |
Time for Examination |
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Upon
receipt of a completed application and documents requested in section
2.1, a representative from the S.C. Election Commission will notify
the vendor of the earliest date when the requested examination for
certification can begin. Examinations for certification will not
be conducted 2 months prior to a statewide election and the period
between the statewide primary and general or special election. Examinations
for upgrades to a currently certified voting system will not be
conducted during this period unless a county currently using the
system requests the upgrade and provides justification for the exception
to this procedure.
The
vendor will be required to deliver the system to the S.C. Election
Commission, provide a demonstration, and answer any questions.
The system will then be retained by the SEC for a period of time
to be determined based upon the type of system and level of testing
required.
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| 2.3 |
Location For Examination |
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Examination
of the voting system will be conducted at the office of the S.C.
Election Commission in Columbia, South Carolina unless otherwise
agreed to by commission personnel and the vendor. The S.C. Election
Commission reserves the right to receive consultation, as to testing
and examination procedures, during the evaluation from outside agents. |
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| 2.4 |
Testing Configuration |
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The
examination test is not intended to result in exhaustive tests of
system hardware and software attributes; these are evaluated during
qualification testing at the ITA. However, all system functions,
which are essential to the conduct of an election, will be evaluated.
This evaluation may be limited, for example, to the casting of a
smaller number of ballots that would be required for assessment
of numerical performance attributes.
The system shall be configured according to specifications outlined
in section III State Level Testing Specifications and contain a
ballot using specifications in sections 3.4 and 3.5 of this document. |
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| 2.5 |
System Components for Disabled Voters |
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If
the system for which certification is sought will be marketed
using features specifically designed for disabled voters, the
system shall be delivered with all components and manuals associated
with those features at the time of examination.
While South Carolina law does not require certain features on
voting systems to accommodate disabled voters, if the voting system
being tested has those capabilities they will be tested fully
and documented in the final report.
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| 2.6 |
Retention of Documentation and Materials |
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All documentation and materials, with the exception of the voting
machines and related hardware, will be retained by the S.C. Election
Commission as long as the system is marketed or used in the State
of South Carolina. If a system fails examination or does not receive
certification from the S.C. Election Commission, original documentation
will be returned to the vendor. Any copies needed to correspond
with original examination procedures, will be retained by the S.C.
Election Commission. |
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| 2.7 |
Reports |
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Pre-election and post election reports must be printed using a typesize
that is easily readable, preferably 10pt or higher, and contain
the election date and title, precinct and grand totals for each
race/candidate listed on the ballot. See
Appendix E - Sample Reports. |
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In
the event that you have any questions, please
contact Donna Royson, Director of Election Services - State Election
Commission, at (803) 734-9060
Page last updated 08/20/2004
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