Voting Equipment
Voting Equipment Certification Information
All components of a voting system are certified according to state and federal law prior to use in any election for a federal, state, or county office. A.R.S. § 16-422(B).
State certification includes a review of system documentation and/or conducting a demonstration and functionality test. Upgrades or modifications to an existing voting system require recertification, but if the upgrade or modification is de minimis, a demonstration and functionality test is optional and not always required. A request for emergency conditional certification is subject to different standards.
Here's the list of equipment certified for use in Arizona.
Prior to every statewide election, each county provides the list of equipment in use for that election. Here's the current list.
All components of a voting system are certified according to state and federal law prior to use in any election for a federal, state, or county office. A.R.S. § 16-422(B).
State certification includes a review of system documentation and/or conducting a demonstration and functionality test. Upgrades or modifications to an existing voting system require recertification, but if the upgrade or modification is de minimis, a demonstration and functionality test is optional and not always required. A request for emergency conditional certification is subject to different standards.
The list of equipment certified for use in Arizona is here.
Prior to every statewide election, each county provides the list of equipment in use for that election. You can find the current list here.
The equipment certification committee reviews applications according to state statute. Upcoming meetings and agendas are located below for reference.
| Date of Meeting | Notice & Agenda | Minutes* |
|---|---|---|
| 05/31/2024 | PDF Approved minutes will be published following the next meeting.* | |
| 05/17/2024 | ||
| 09/13/2023 | ||
| 05/19/2023 | ||
| 05/02/2023 |
*Minutes not yet adopted by the committee are in draft format
| Date of Meeting | Notice & Agenda | Minutes* |
|---|---|---|
| 09/19/2022 | ||
| 08/29/2022 | ||
| 05/11/2022 | ||
| 03/02/2022 | ||
| 01/24/2022 | ||
| 09/03/2021 | ||
| 04/28/2021 | ||
| 04/23/2021 | ||
| 03/24/2021 | ||
| 09/04/2020 | ||
| 05/12/2020 | ||
| 01/28/2020 | ||
| 10/29/2019 | ||
| 08/15/2019 | ||
| 05/20/2019 | ||
| 04/16/2019 | ||
| 02/13/2019 |
*Minutes not yet adopted by the committee are in draft format
Before each election, voting equipment is tested to ensure that it is operating correctly. This test is performed by the election officials conducting the election as well as by the Secretary of States Office if the election includes a federal, statewide, or legislative contest.
The testing, commonly called logic and accuracy (L&A) testing, confirms that the election program is correctly attributing votes to candidates and ballot measures and that each candidate and ballot measure receives the accurate number of votes.
The public is welcomed and encouraged to attend these tests. The test also must be overseen by at least two elections staff or inspectors of different political parties.
The Arizona Secretary of State must conduct an L&A test on accessible voting equipment and optical/digital scan equipment before each federal, statewide, and legislative election.
Accessible voting equipment is available at every polling location to assist voters with disabilities and may be used by any voter. A.R.S. § 16-447(A). Accessible voting equipment is similar to a tablet and allows the voter to make their selections on a digital screen. This equipment does not tabulate or store a voters selections. Instead, the voter will receive a printed ballot card with their selections to review prior to putting it into a ballot box.
In the case of federal, statewide, or legislative elections, the Secretary of State tests selected accessible voting equipment within seven days before the start of early voting (i.e., between 34 and 27 days before the election). A.R.S. § 16-449(B).
- Apache (L&A Certificate)
- Cochise (L&A Certificate | Revised)
- Coconino (L&A Certificate)
- Gila (L&A Certificate)
- Graham (L&A Certificate)
- Greenlee (L&A Certificate)
- La Paz (L&A Certificate)
- Maricopa (L&A Certificate)
- Mohave (L&A Certificate)
- Navajo (L&A Certificate)
- Pima (L&A Certificate)
- Pinal (L&A Certificate)
- Santa Cruz (L&A Certificate)
- Yavapai (L&A Certificate)
- Yuma (L&A Certificate)
Optical and digital equipment is the phrase used to describe the equipment used to tabulate votes.
The officer in charge of elections must test precinct voting equipment and central count equipment within 30 days of an election. In the case of federal, statewide or legislative elections, the Arizona Secretary of State must also test selected equipment within 17 days before the election. A.R.S. § 16-449(A).
All components of the electronic voting system must be secured. The officer in charge of elections must develop and implement a training plan to ensure that elections staff (and any temporary workers) understand and comply with all security procedures applicable to the electronic voting system. A.R.S. § 16-625.
A person who knowingly modifies the software, hardware, or source code for voting equipment without receiving approval or certification pursuant to A.R.S. § 16-442 is guilty of a class 5 felony. A.R.S. § 16-1004(B).
Hardware components of the electronic voting system:
- Must be permanently labeled with a unique serial number for tracking and auditing purposes;
- Must be inventoried before and after an election;
- Must be stored in a locked, secured location that prevents unauthorized access;
- Must be sealed with tamper-resistant or tamper-evident seals once programmed;
- Must be safeguarded from unauthorized access when being moved, transferred, serviced, programmed, or temporarily stored;
- May be accessed by elections staff only to the extent necessary to perform their authorized task; and
- Must be witnessed by two or more election staff members (of different political parties if possible) when being moved or transferred, which includes an inventory of the equipment and chain of custody before and after the move or transfer.
Components of the electronic voting system:
- Must be password-protected (for voting system software);
- May not be connected to the internet, any wireless communications device, or any external network (except for e-pollbooks);
- May not be used to modem election results, whether through analog, cellular, or any similar transmission;
- May not contain remote access software or any capability to remotely-access the system;
- Must match the software or firmware hash code on file with the officer in charge of elections prior to programing the election and the hash code on file with either (1) the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); or (2) the Secretary of State at the time of certification of the electronic voting system; and
- Must be observed by the officer in charge of elections or a designee if the election program (or any software or firmware) is updated or modified.