Author: Karen Brinson Bell, Executive Director
This numbered memo updates Voting Systems Certification Procedures: Numbered Memo 2019-04 and details the procedures a county board of elections is required to follow when seeking to purchase certified voting systems and components.
When seeking to use a new voting system in the county, a county board of elections must follow the same procedures regardless of when the voting system was certified.
Only voting systems certified by the State Board may be used in North Carolina. North Carolina law and the Elections Systems Certification Program adopted by the State Board establish the role of the county board of elections in selecting a new voting system for that county and impose procedures during and after the adoption and acquisition of a certified voting system for use in the county.
For detailed information on the certification process and the role of the State Board and vendors, please see the Elections Systems Certification Program (PDF).
Voting Systems Certified by the State Board
The following voting systems are certified for use in North Carolina:
- ES&S EVS 6.3.0.0
- DS200 precinct tabulator
- DS300 precinct tabulator
- DS850 central tabulator
- DS450 central tabulator
- DS950 central tabulator
- ExpressVote ballot marking device
- ES&S EVS 5.2.4.0
- DS200 precinct tabulator
- DS450 central tabulator
- DS850 central tabulator
- ExpressVote ballot marking device
- AutoMARK ballot marking device
- Hart InterCivic Verity Voting 2.2/2.5
- Verity Scan precinct tabulator
- Verity Touch Writer ballot marking device
- Verity Central Workstation central tabulator
- Verity Print ballot on demand
- ES&S Unity 3.4.1.1
- M100 precinct tabulator
- DS200 precinct tabulator
- M650 central tabulator
- DS850 central tabulator
- AutoMARK ballot marking device
- ES&S Unity 3.0.1.1
- M100 precinct tabulator
- M650 central tabulator
- AutoMARK ballot marking device
- Clear Ballot ClearVote 1.41
- ClearCast precinct tabulator
- ClearAccess ballot marking device
- ClearCount central tabulator
- ClearAudit election audit system
1 Clear Ballot is not currently used in any county in North Carolina.
Requirements for Adopting and Acquiring a Certified Voting System
Ultimately, the county board of commissioners (with the recommendation and approval of the county board of elections) must adopt and acquire a voting system that is certified by the State Board for use in the county. Before the board of county commissioners approves the adoption and acquisition of a voting system, the county board of elections must do the following steps:2
- Witness a demonstration of the recommended voting system plus at least one other certified voting system not currently used in your county. The demonstration can take place in the county or at a site designated by the State Board.
- The demonstration should be organized as part of a public meeting with invitations sent to the county board of commissioners, the county manager, the county attorney, and the political parties in the county.
- The county board should give public notice of the demonstration and meeting, as it does for all other board meetings.
- A majority of county board members must meet the demonstration requirement. All board members of the county board of elections should witness a demonstration if possible.
- Make a preliminary recommendation to the board of county commissioners as to which voting system should be acquired by the county.
- Official action to preliminarily recommend to the board of commissioners can be taken as soon as the same meeting during which the demonstration is conducted, provided the meeting is properly noticed. Alternatively, the meeting to preliminarily recommend a voting system may be noticed prior to the demonstration as long as the meeting is held after the demonstration.
- The Board can document its recommendation by resolution, letter, presentation, or other official action.
The county board must either:
- Test the proposed voting system in at least one precinct where the voting system would be used if adopted, or
- Test the proposed voting system in a simulated election.
Option 1: Testing in a Precinct in an Election
- County board staff must notify State Board voting systems staff of its intent to test the recommended voting system.
- The voting systems election management system and the components of the system must undergo Logic & Accuracy testing prior to use in the test election.
- After completing canvass, the county board must determine that the recommended voting system has met the requirements for voting in that county.
Option 2: Testing in a Simulated Election
- County boards may test proposed voting equipment in a simulated election, in accordance with standards established by the State Board.3
- Please refer to the Standards for Simulated Election policy, adopted by the State Board on July 31, 2020 (revised March 28, 2023), for more information on how to test the proposed equipment in a simulated election. The policy is attached to this memo.
- State Board staff must be notified of any plans to conduct a simulated election prior to scheduling.
- Seek State Board approval to replace the current voting system.
- The county board of elections cannot replace any voting system, or any portion thereof, without approval of the State Board.4
- The form to request approval is attached to this memo.
- Make a final recommendation to the board of county commissioners.
- The board of commissioners can decline to adopt or acquire any voting system recommended by the county board of elections, but it cannot adopt and acquire a voting system that has not been approved by the county board of elections.5
- The public contracting and procurement statutes do not apply to the purchase of a certified voting system.
- Along with the final recommendation, the CBE must submit the proposed vendor contract to the State Board of Elections for review and approval.
2 See G.S. § 163-165.9 and Section 3.3.2 of the Certification Program.
3 G.S. § 163-165.9(a)(3)(b).
4 See G.S. § 163-165.9(b)(3).
5 See G.S. § 163-165.8.
Requirements After the County Has Adopted and Acquired a Certified Voting System
The county board of elections must conduct acceptance testing when a newly procured voting system (or any newly acquired type of equipment for a voting system) is delivered. Acceptance testing ensures that the system delivered is identical to that which was certified and that it operates in good working condition. This testing is conducted by the county board with the assistance of State Board staff or consultants approved by the State Board.
Additionally, the county board of elections must also comply with any requirements of the State Board regarding training and support of the voting system by completing all of the following:6
- The CBE must comply with all of the vendor’s specifications for ballot printers. The CBE can contract with noncertified ballot printer vendors as long as that vendor meets all of the specifications and the State Board’s quality assurance requirements.
- The CBE must maintain annual software license agreements.
- The CBE must uphold annual maintenance agreements necessary to maintain the warranty of the voting system or employ qualified personnel to maintain a voting system in lieu of entering into maintenance agreements.
- Before entering into any maintenance agreement, the CBE shall ensure the vendor agrees to operate a training program for qualified personnel hired by the CBE.
- The CBE must notify the State Board at the time of every repair, according to State Board guidelines.
- The CBE must continue to comply with the Voting Systems Vendor Code of Ethics (PDF).
6 See G.S. § 163-165.9A(a).
Frequently Asked Questions
The county board wants to purchase an additional piece of equipment that is part of the voting system the board currently uses. Is the board required to witness a demonstration and is the county board of commissioners required to adopt and acquire the new equipment? Do we need to conduct a simulated election after purchasing the new equipment?
The county board does not need to witness a demonstration or seek approval of the county commissioners to adopt and acquire a new component of the county’s currently used voting system. Nor does the county need to conduct a simulated election. The county is not adopting a new voting system but rather is purchasing an additional piece of equipment within its currently existing system. With any new purchase of a voting system or any component thereof, the county board needs to conduct acceptance testing to be coordinated with the State Board.
The county board wants to upgrade from ES&S EVS 5.2.4.0 to ES&S EVS 6.3.0.0. Is this considered “adopting and acquiring” a new voting system under the statute?
Yes. These are two different voting systems, each of which was required to go through full certification review by the State Board. A county board is “adopting and acquiring” a new voting system if it is upgrading to EVS 6.3.0.0 from any other certified voting system, and the county board needs to complete all required steps for adopting and acquiring a new voting system. On the other hand, a county board is not considered to have adopted and acquired a new voting system if it is upgrading to the most recent certified version of the system, where that more recent certified version was not required to go through full certification review by the State Board (e.g., moving from ES&S Unity 3.0.1.1 to Unity 3.4.1.1, or from Hart InterCivic Verity 2.2 to Verity 2.5). The State Board determines whether a new version of a voting system is a mere modification of an existing certified system or a new voting system entirely, the latter of which requires full certification review and all preapproval procedures by the county before acquiring a new system.
The county board wants to purchase equipment from a newly certified voting system but much of its existing equipment will continue to work and be used. Is this considered adopting a new voting system?
Changing from one certified voting system to another certified system is considered adopting and acquiring a new voting system, even though some equipment remains the same, and your county board needs to complete all required steps for adopting and acquiring a new voting system. A “voting system” is the total combination of mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic equipment (including the software, firmware, hardware, and documentation required to program, control, and support the equipment) that is used to define ballots; to cast or tabulate votes; to read election media; to report or display election results; and to maintain and produce any audit trail information.7 Although some hardware, can be configured to work with more than one system, if the county is adopting equipment from a new voting system that underwent separate State certification, it is acquiring a new voting system.
The county board wants to adopt a new voting system, and three members of the current board witnessed demonstrations of that new system and another currently certified voting system in the past. Is the board required to witness demonstrations again?
A majority of county board members voting on the recommendation must have witnessed a demonstration, so if a majority of the board has already witnessed a demonstration of the recommended voting system and at least one other certified voting system not currently used in the county, the board is not required to repeat the demonstration. However, all board members of the county board of elections should witness a demonstration if possible. Board members are not required to attend demonstrations on the same day.
Can my county board conduct a simulated election prior to witnessing demonstrations?
No. The simulated election must take place after witnessing the demonstration of the proposed voting system and one other certified system not currently in use in the county and after making a preliminary recommendation to the county commissioners as to which system the county should adopt and acquire.
Can the demonstration required in Step 1 be conducted virtually?
Yes. If a quorum of board members is present, the demonstration must be publicly noticed as a meeting of the board and the county board of commissioners, county manager, county attorney, and the political parties in the county must be notified of the demonstration. Ideally, a virtual demonstration would be provided live. However, if a vendor is offered the opportunity to present in person and live by virtual means, and the vendor declines, the county board may witness a prerecorded demonstration of that vendor’s system.
Can the county board’s test of a proposed new voting system occur in all precincts or voting sites?
No. Using a proposed new voting system in all voting sites or all precincts circumvents the purpose of testing the voting system before it is acquired and ultimately authorized by a county and the State Board to be used as the county’s voting system.
7 Elections Systems Certification Program (PDF) at page 3-4 (emphasis added).
Accessibility Requirement
The Help America Vote Act mandates that a voting system provide the same opportunity for access and participation to voters with disabilities as it does to voters without disabilities. Federal law requires that each voting place have an accessible voting option for voters with disabilities to vote independently. A county board may choose to use any of the certified ballot marking devices to meet this requirement, but due to limitations in tabulation software, a county may not acquire voting systems from more than one vendor.
In selecting the voting system that will be used, county boards should be mindful of the requirement that they must make available at each voting place “an adequate quantity of official ballots or equipment.” Similarly, county commissioners shall provide “for each of those voting places sufficient equipment of the approved voting system.”8 County boards should consider the expected turnout in their county and each voting place, including One-Stop early voting, central transfer location, and Election Day, future elections, and the need to reduce long lines whenever possible.
8 G.S. § 163-165.10.
[Download the PDF below for Request for Replacement of County Voting System and Standards for Simulated Election attachments]
↓ Procedures for Purchasing Voting Equipment: Numbered Memo 2021-01 (PDF)