California Secretary of State Parallel Monitoring Programs California

California Secretary of State Parallel Monitoring Programs California Secretary of State

Parallel Monitoring in California q q Background Purpose California Secretary of State

Testing Approach q Test Plan q q q Counties Precincts Script Development q Conditions q Characteristics q Coverage California Secretary of State

Equipment Selection q q q Randomly After election preparation; before delivery to polling places Tamper-evident seals applied Segregated from inventory Housed on county premises California Secretary of State

Team Composition and Roles q q Tester – Executes Test Scripts Observer – Reviews & Verifies “Vote” q q Team Leader – Liaison & Overseer Video Operator – Records Every “Vote” California Secretary of State

Documenting Testing Activity q q Activity Checklist Equipment Security and Chain of Custody Discrepancy Reporting Test Artifact Retention California Secretary of State

Activities on Election Day q Team gathers at county ~5: 45 a. m. q Set-up Activities 6: 00 a. m. – 7: 00 a. m. q . . Testing q Closing Activities 8: 00 p. m. – 9: 00 p. m. Activities 7: 00 a. m. – 8: 00 p. m. California Secretary of State

Reconciliation q Compare Actual Results with Expected Results q Tools: q q q Discrepancy Reports Videotapes Report of Findings California Secretary of State

Benefits of Parallel Monitoring q q q A true test for fraud on election day A positive final step in the voting equipment testing process It provides increased voter confidence It may act as a potential deterrent to would-be programmer fraud It may increase Q/A-Q/C of vendors California Secretary of State

The Future of Parallel Monitoring q q q We will never have enough time or resources to test everything completely so we make decisions based on the risks involved. VVPAT combined with the 1% mandatory recount provides system verification and bolsters voter confidence. These measures, in combination, strike a good balance between cost, risk and benefit. The lessons learned from parallel monitoring should be expanded and incorporated into the certification testing process. California Secretary of State