It’s official. VotingWorks is certified by the EAC to VVSG 2.0, the newest and most demanding federal standard for voting systems. We’re the first open-source system to ever be certified at the federal level.
That’s a milestone we’re proud of. But meeting the federal standard was only part of what we set out to do. VVSG 2.0 raises the bar with updated requirements surrounding security, accuracy, and accessibility. Our system meets those requirements and builds on them with two principles that have shaped how we build from the start: equipment that is robust to human error and always fully transparent.
Election Technology Should Catch Mistakes Early
Working alongside election officials has taught us what a standard alone can’t: the best voting technology has to account for the very human realities of running an election. Busy poll workers. Long checklists. Folded ballots. Equipment that needs cleaning in the middle of election day.
So we built a system designed to catch problems before they even become problems:
- Automated ballot design: Mislabeled contests and misaligned bubbles get caught before ballots are printed.
- Built-in mismatch detection: Configuration mismatches between ballots and tabulators trigger alerts before a single vote is cast.
- Scanners that solve common problems and proactively flag ones they can’t: Paper creases automatically filtered. A hardware design that dramatically reduces jams and, when they do happen, software that warns you clearly. A scanner that tells you when it needs to be cleaned, so ballots are never misread.
That’s what robustness looks like in practice: technology designed around the reality that people are human and elections are complex.
Making Transparency the Standard
While election administrators are among the most transparent public servants, the equipment they’ve historically been forced to use is anything but transparent.
We’re built to be as transparent as the election officials we serve. Our source code and documentation are open for public inspection, giving election officials, security researchers, competing vendors, and curious voters a clear view of how our system works.
America’s votes deserve technology that can be examined, understood, and questioned publicly. That commitment to transparency has been part of VotingWorks from the very beginning.
Boring is the Goal
At VotingWorks, we love boring elections. Boring to us means the equipment works, problems get caught early, election officials know what’s happening, and the public can check the technology behind the voting count if they wanted to.
Election technology should be secure, robust, and open-source.
And you don’t have to take our word for it. You can check the code.
Here’s to more boring elections.