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Federal elections official briefs Idaho Senate on voting-system standards, HAVA grants
Summary
Don Palmer, vice chair of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, told the Idaho Senate State Affairs Committee that the EAC’s testing, certification and grants under the Help America Vote Act support states’ voting systems, cybersecurity and poll-worker recruitment; he urged continued resources and personnel for local election offices.
Don Palmer, vice chair of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, told the Idaho Senate State Affairs Committee on the panel’s first meeting of the 2025 session that the EAC’s testing, certification and grant programs exist to support state and local election officials and improve voting-system accuracy and security.
Palmer outlined the EAC’s role under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), saying the agency runs voluntary voting-system testing and certification, gathers best practices, and distributes federal HAVA funds to states for equipment, cybersecurity and accessibility. “We want to make sure [voting systems] are secure, accurate, and they’re functionable,” Palmer said.
The presentation stressed three main elements: federally accredited lab testing, state review, and local logic-and-accuracy checks. Palmer described the EAC’s transition to updated Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG 2), a…
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