H Terms — Election Security Glossary

Help America Vote Act of 2002 creates the Election Assistance Commission and expands the federal government’s role in elections through mandates, standards and funding.

Probably result in an increase in the number of states with uniform systems. Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act A statute that prescribes measures that the Fe deral government and the…

A network set up with intentional vulnerabilities hosted on a decoy server to attract hackers

The process of managing and provisioning an organization’s IT infrastructure using machine-readable configuration files, rather than employing physical hardware configuration or interactive configurat…

Unauthorized attempt or access to an information system.

Unauthorized user who attempts to or gains access to an information system.

The act performed by a hacker whereby the hacker gains unauthorized access or breaks-in into a system by exploiting a weakness.

Utilizing technology to publicize a social, ideological, religious or political message. Hacktivism can refer to any attempt to alter or influence the outcome of an election by an interested third par…

Open-source software framework for distributed storage and processing of very large data sets on computer clusters built from commodity hardware

Another term for the Droop Quota.

Counting ballot sheets and/or selections on ballot sheets by human examination.

A board appointed “to tally those ballots designa ted by electors to be counted without the use of any machine or device.” Mont. Admin. Rules §44.3.1765(3).

A document used to record temporary transfer of COMSEC material from a COMSEC Account Manager to a user or maintenance facility and acceptance by the recipient of the responsibility for the proper sto…

A user to whom COMSEC material has been issued a hand receipt. Known in EKMS and KMI as a Local Element.

A “ballot designated to be counted by hand in precincts where precinct tabulators are not available.” Alaska Stat. 15-060.010(10).

A fully MANUAL RECOUNT in which the ballots are manipul ated by hand and read by eyeball., without the use of any automated equipment. 8 N. C. Admin Code §09.0109.

Paper ballot marked by a voter using a writing utensil. The paper ballot is the independent voter verifiable record.

“[H]aving a temporary or permanent physical disability.” 42 U. S. C. §1973ee-6(4). “Those with impaired vision, impaired hearing, or im paired mobility, including wheelchair users and those who are am…

Protocol dialogue between two systems for identifying and authenticating themselves to each other, or for synchronizing their operations with each other.

Dialogue between two information systems for synchronizing, identifying, and authenticating themselves to one another. (CNSSI-4009) (NISTIR)

(obs.) A CHAD that is connected to a card by one or two corners. Hardware Programming Manager (ES&S) A component of the ES&S Unity suite that places data on removable media for use in voting and tabul…

Chad refers to fragments sometimes created when holes are made in a paper, card or similar synthetic materials, such as punched cards. A "hanging chad" is a chad that is incompletely removed.

Physical keying material, such as printed key lists, punched or printed key tapes, or programmable, read-only memories (PROMs).

Political contributions made directly to a specific candidate.

Refers to a hearing loss where there may be enough residual hearing that an auditory device may aid.

Configuring a host’s operating systems and applications to reduce the host’s security weaknesses. (SP 800-123) (NISTIR)

The physical, tangible, mechanical, or electromechanical components of a system.

Abbreviation for HARDWARE PROGRAMMING MANAGER

Key that is permanently installed.

“Logic implemented through the design of an integrated circuit; the programming of a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), Field-Pr ogrammable Gate Array (FPGA), Peripheral Interface Controller (PIC), or s…

Voting system, with the exception of BORDER LOGIC.” 2007 VVSG.

A variant of quota used in proportional representation systems which use the Largest Remainder Method, defined as the total valid vote divided by the number of seats to be filled in the electoral dist…

Algorithm that maps a bit string of arbitrary length to a fixed-length bit string.

A function that maps a bit string of arbitrary length to a fixed-length bit string. Approved hash functions satisfy the following properties: 1. (one-way) It is computationally infeasible to find any …

Value computed on data to detect error or manipulation. See Checksum. (CNSSI-4009) (NISTIR)

A numeric value resulting from applying a mathematical algorithm against a set of data such as a file.

See message digest.

A message authentication code that uses a cryptographic key in conjunction with a hash function.

The process of using a mathematical algorithm against data to produce a numeric value that is representative of that data.

A method of counting votes where for each vote counted one person reads the vote, and one or more people make tally marks is sets of five marks for each candidate or yes/no vote.

(C. F. D.) Memory address containing hash total. Rationale: Listed for deletion in 2010 version of CNSS 4009.

A natural or man-made source or cause of harm or difficulty.

The registrar of voters “shall designate one of the MODERATORS so appointed or any other elector of such town to be the head modera tor for the purpose of declaring the results of elections in the who…

A “card or ballot which is coded to indicate to a central counter the precinct identity of the marksense ballots that follow immediately.” Ala. Admin. Code §307-X-1-.01(7).

(ES&S opscan) A set of marks on an optical scan ballot to identify a particular BALLOT STYLE.

A “data processing document which is coded to indicate to the computer the precinct identity of the ballots that will follow immediately and may indicate to the computer how such ballots are to be tab…

(HIE) A health information organization that brings together healthcare stakeholders within a defined geographic area and governs health information exchange among them for the purpose of improving he…

An opportunity to state one's case through a formal administrative process.

An individual who is authorized to apply a legal process, conduct hearings, resolve administrative disputes, facilitate negotiations between opposing parties, and issue legal decisions.

The rules and series of actions that govern how hearings are administered.

A U. S. Congressional Act in 2002 which provided funds and guidance to states in acquiring new voting equipment.

Act passed by the U. S. Congress in 2002 to make reforms to the nation’s voting process. HAVA addresses improvements to voting systems and voter access that were identified following the 2000 election…

A program authorized under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) to encourage student participation as poll workers or assistants, to foster student interest in the elections process, and to encourage stat…

A “a small mark made by resting a pen or pencil on the ballot.” Iowa Admin. Code §721- 26.1(49). Similarly, 2007 VVSG. Hesitation marks may be diffi cult to distinguish from votes, particularly if mad…

An electoral district in which, either by design or as a result of the operation of other criteria for boundary delimitation, the electorate manifests social, ethnic, religious or linguistic diversity…

An environment consisting of multiple types of systems.

A printing imperfection resulting from dirt on the press or foreign matter in the paper.

Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor Interoperability Specification (HAIPE-IS) Suite of documents containing the traffic protection, networking, and interoperability functional requirements necessary…

An enclave boundary protection device that controls access between a local area network that an enterprise system has a requirement to protect, and an external network that is outside the control of t…

A failover feature to ensure availability during device or component interruptions. (SP 800-113) (NISTIR)

The loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability that could be expected to have a severe or catastrophic adverse effect on organizational operations, organizational asset s, individuals, other …

A geographical unit for the local administration of secondary schools. It is a special-purpose government entity with elected board members.

An information system in which at least one security objective (i.e., confidentiality, integrity, or availability) is assigned a FIPS PUB 199 potential impact value of h igh.

For the purposes of determining separation between RED equipment/lines and RF transmitters, high-power is that which exceeds 100 m Watt (20dBm) emitted isotropic radiated power (EIRP). See low-power t…

A “self-contained optical scan ballot tabulator, that uses an automatic ballot feeder to process ballots placed in the tabulator in any orientati on. Ballots are processed at high-speed and the tabula…

An optical scanner capable of scanning a high number of ballots (hundreds) per minute. These large and complex scanners are typically used in vote-by- mail jurisdictions, in large jurisdictions that h…

A principle for converting votes into seats in List PR systems. One seat is allocated in a district at each of a series of counts to the party or grouping with the highest vote total. When a seat is a…

The term used when government authorities administer elections.

To indicate that an agency is organizing a process for an individual or organization to state one's case, resolve administrative disputes, facilitate negotiations between opposing parties, and issue l…

A term used to describe an individual who has been sworn into public office and is currently serving in the position.

The term used when a government authority administers an election.

The right of the people cities, village, townships or other local districts to set up and change their own governmental structure.

In some states, known as home rule states, the state's constitution grants municipalities and/or counties the ability to pass laws to govern themselves as they see fit (so long as they obey the state …

A city that has adopted a Charter outlining the form of government and local laws.

Any “person who has a nontraditional residence, including but not limited to, a shelter, day shelter, park bench, street corner, or space under a bridge.” 10 Ill. Comp. Stat. §5/1-3(23).

An environment consisting of a single type of system.

An electoral district in which, either by design or as a result of the operation of other criteria for boundary delimitation, the electorate manifests substantial social, ethnic, religious or linguist…

A special form of encryption in which the sum of two numbers can be determined even though the numbers are encrypted, and without decr ypting the numbers. Homomorphic encryption can be used in verific…

The property of a voting system that prevents a voter from voting more than once or changing another’s vote.

A computer security mechanism set to detect, deflect, or, in some manner, counteract attempts at unauthorized use of information

A system (e.g., a web server) or system resource (e.g., a file on a server) that is designed to be attractive to potential crackers and intruders, like honey is attractive to bears.

A system (e.g., a Web server) or system resource (e.g., a file on a server) that is designed to be attractive to potential crackers and intruders and has no authorized users other than its administrat…

Is data that looks attractive to cyber criminals but is actually false or of no value

A compromised or commercially purchased intermediary system that is used as a proxy to disguise the attacker’s true point of origin.

A systematic examination of information to identify potential threats, risks, emerging issues and opportunities allowing for better preparedness and the incorporation of mitigation and exploitation in…

An “ ABSENTEE BALLOT provided to voters confined to a health care facility on the day of a primary or election.” Wash. Admin. Code §434-240-010(7).

A host is any hardware device that has the capability of permitting access to a network via a user interface, specialized software, network address, protocol stack, or any other means. Some examples i…

A set of capabilities that provide a framework to implement a wide-range of security solutions on hosts. This framework includes a trusted agent and a centralized management function that together pro…

An action or attempted action taken by an adversary that is designed to harm, disrupt, or compromise the security, integrity, or availability of systems, networks, or operations, particularly in the c…

A “geographical area in which forces are assi gned on official temporary duty and placed in imminent danger of being exposed to hostile fire or explosion of hostile mines.” Utah Code §2-A-3-403(3).

A fully operational offsite data processing facility equipped with hardware and software, to be used in the event of an information system disruption.

A debrief conducted immediately after an exercise or test with the staff and participants. (SP 800-84) (NISTIR)

One of 435 regions from which voting representatives are elected to the U. S. House of Representatives.

435 regions from which voting representatives are elected to the U. S. House of Representatives.

The lower house of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper house. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The House's composition is establis…

A network device used ot connect several LAN devices together.

Discipline concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them.

Scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in or…

Requires real people to use their eyes to examine marks on a piece of paper that has been marked by a voter.

High humidity may interfere with the proper ope ration of electronic circuits and may also cause SWELLING of optical scan BALLOTS. Humidity tests form part of the 2007 VVSG.

U. S. efforts with allies and partners to conduct threat hunting and pursue adversaries on allied and partner networks.

A set of teams within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency that provides onsite incident response, free of charge, to organizations that require immediate investiga- tion and resolutio…

A security control that is implemented in an information system in part as a common control and in part as a system-specific control. See common control and system-specific security control.

The result of dividing a country into two or more non-overlapping areas, in each of which a different electoral system is used.

An application protocol to transfer data between web servers and web browsers.

The HTTP protocol encrypted with SSL or TLS.