1 | AES AutoVote

New Mexico Secretary of State's Office

Report on Automated Election Services (AES) AutoVote Ballot Printing Systems

In 2011, Automated Election Services (AES) requested certification of its AutoVote Ballot Printing System. Independent Testing was conducted by SLI Global Solutions, a testing laboratory accredited by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and accredited by the Election Assistance Commission for voting system testing lab (VSTL) status. The testing was completed in December, 2011, and the AutoVote system was certified by the Voting System Certification Committee (VSCC) for use in New Mexico. The AutoVote system was implemented and used in the 2012 statewide elections, as well as numerous local elections in 2012 and 2013. Section 1-9-14(A) provides that the "secretary of state shall provide for the testing and evaluation of voting systems designed for the purpose of recording and tabulating votes within polling places in New Mexico. All voting systems certified for use in the state shall be tested by an independent authority and shall comply with all requirements in the Election Code and the most recent voluntary voting system guidelines adopted by the United States election assistance commission." Although the AutoVote Ballot Printing System does not record or tabulate votes, it does meet the definition of a "voting system" as set forth in § 1-9-1 NMSA 1978. Additionally, the 2005 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG), Section 1.5.2 addresses the definition of a voting system as follows:

HAVA Section 301 defines a voting system as the total combination of mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic equipment (including the software, firmware, and documentation required to program, control and support the equipment), that is used to define ballots; to cast and count votes; to report or display election results; and to maintain and produce any audit trail information. In addition, a voting system includes the practices and associated documentation used to identify system components and versions of such components; to test the system during its development and maintenance; to maintain records of system errors and defects; to determine specific system changes made after initial certification; and to make available any materials to

2 | AES AutoVote

the voter (such as notices, instructions, forms or paper ballots). Traditionally, a voting system has been defined by the mechanism the system used to cast votes and further characterized by the location where the system tabulates ballots.

Based on the foregoing definition, the 2005 VVSG does not contain a separate set of testing standards for systems that print ballots. The following independent testing lab report from 2011 provides information for the VSCC's consideration as to whether the AES Autovote system continues to meet the requirements of the New Mexico Election Code, as required by NMSA 1978, §1-9-14(A), and is eligible for recertification pursuant to NMSA 1978, § 1-9-7.4(A).