Activation device

1. Programmed device that creates credentials necessary to begin a voting session using a specific ballot style. Examples include electronic poll books and card activators that contain credential information necessary to determine the appropriate ballot style for the voter.

Source: Election Terminology Glossary - Draft, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), https://pages.nist.gov/ElectionGlossary/

2. A card or device used to activate a voting machine for voting. A "programmed device that creates credentials necessary to initiate a voting session using a specific ballot configuration. 2007 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG). The VVSG definition is intended to cover “a range of devices such as electronic pollbooks and card activators that encode a token with credential information necessary to determine the appropriate ballot configuration for the voter (e.g., affiliation or precinct). The credentials on the token are used to call up and display the correct ballot on a Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) or Electronic Poll Book (EBP).” The question raised by the definition is whether the activation device is the token itself or the equipment that loads the token with data.

Source: Electronic Voting Glossary, Michael I. Shamos, https://collaborate.nist.gov/voting/pub/Voting/Glossary/Shamos-Election-Glossary.pdf