§20971 Certification and testing of voting systems

Summary

Require the Commission to have accredited labs test, certify, decertify, and recertify voting machine hardware and software. A State can choose to use those Commission-approved labs for its own systems. Within 6 months after the Commission first creates voluntary voting system guidelines under subpart 3 of part A of this subchapter, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) must review independent non-Federal labs and give the Commission a proposed list for accreditation. The Commission must vote to approve any lab and must explain if it approves a lab not on NIST’s list. NIST will keep watching accredited labs and may recommend revoking accreditation, but the Commission must vote to revoke. Existing lab accreditation and procedures in use on October 29, 2002, stay in place until the Commission sets the new system. Not later than 180 days after December 18, 2025, the Commission must add penetration testing to its certification process, create a program to accept those test results, require penetration testing for Commission certification, vote on any chosen testing entity, base choices on competence, and may consult NIST or other federal agencies.