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Public Working Group Guidance

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Voting Program focuses on the development of community-based guidelines, metrics, and guidelines that inform the development of the Election Assistance Commission's (EAC) Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG). This effort is undertaken in partnership with interested Federal, commercial, and private sector parties through the formation of public working groups.The key provisions for forming and managing these working groups are summarized below:

Formation and Scope: Public working groups are established by the NIST Voting Program to pursue its goals for informing the development of a new version of the VVSG through a combined public-private effort.  Input from government, commercial, and academic sector individuals and entities is considered by the Program in evaluating the formation or dissolution of a public working group, including its initial and continuing scope and tasking.

Constituency vs. Election Cycle Groups: Constituency groups are for development of guidance or deliverables that may inform the election cycle groups. In addition constituency group members will meet to discuss the activities of each election cycle group to help ensure each constituency group's interests are covered throughout the process. The election cycle groups will take input from the constituency groups so as to develop or inform requirements development for consideration by the EAC's Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC).

Membership: Participation in a public working group is open and free to all interested parties; there are no membership fees.

Leadership: Public working groups are led by NIST and EAC staff acting as Chairs and/or Co-Chairs along with designated members.

Liaisons: To promote coordination among the working groups, individual Groups may designate liaisons to one or more other groups as needed.

Sub-groups: Each public working group may create one or more sub-groups to focus on a specific task and an associated deliverable. Any deliverables or recommendations of the sub-group are advisory only to the parent working group. Sub-groups are dissolved at the completion of their tasking or at any time upon the direction of the parent working group.

Sub-group Leadership: The heads of sub-groups - "Leaders" and/or "Co-Leaders" - are designated by the Chair or Co-chair of the parent working group from among the working group membership based on knowledge and interest in the sub-group tasking.

Meeting Frequency: Each working group will establish its own schedule for meetings and teleconferences.

Products: The products of working groups prepared at the direction of NIST and EAC staff and/or its designated representatives are subject to NIST and EAC review and are intended for public release at NIST's discretion.

Contacts

Created September 3, 2015, Updated January 28, 2022