The Election Assistance Commission was created by the 2002 Help America Vote Act, itself a response to the punch card ballot and multiple ballot style issues that surrounded the 2000 presidential election.
[1] The resulting guidelines were intended to provide consistency in the integrity of voting systems.
[1] Writing in 2013, researchers at Auburn University critiqued the guidelines as needing to be paired with funding for states to participate.
They argued that the more sophisticated states participated in the voluntary certification while most adapted parts of the guidelines or opted out altogether.
"[4] "Equipment (including hardware, firmware, and software), materials, and documentation used to enact the following functions of an election: All voting systems must also:[6]