RABET-V
The Rapid Architecture-Based Election Technology Verification (RABET-VTM) program is a rapid, reliable, and cost-effective approach to verifying non-voting election systems.
RABET-V is designed to introduce testing standards by which election offices can better understand the security, reliability, and risks associated with the technology used for non-voting systems like electronic pollbooks and election night reporting systems.
Addressing the Verification Problem
There is no standard, national-level process for verifying that non-voting election technology is secure, reliable, accessible, and usable. This puts elections jurisdictions at risk, burdens vendors with extra costs, and risks inconsistent and insecure outcomes.
Offering a Trusted Solution
RABET-V is a flexible, rapid, and cost-effective process for verifying vendor-provided and homegrown non-voting election technology. RABET-V assesses a product and the organization responsible for developing it by scoring its development process, architecture, and the product's performance to form a more complete picture of non-voting election technology.
For more details, please see our technical documentation.
- Comprehensive view: Conducts a holistic assessment of the technology producer’s development processes, the product’s architectures, and the product's performance.
- Actionable results: Provides reports on the assessments that support continual improvement and more clarity in procurements.
- Scalability potential: Uses the results from previous assessments and information about product changes to scale the level of testing for future versions.
The Value of RABET-V
- Rigorous methodology: A thorough approach to testing non-voting equipment.
- Rapidly retest for risks: A risk-based way to rapidly retest products after changes.
- Practical assurance: A cost-effective solution for ensuring verified products, and the most up-to-date versions of those products, are deployed in election environments.
- No cost to election offices: Election offices can request reports directly from vendors as part of procurement and review processes.
- Efficient process: Lowers overall costs to vendors and election offices by removing redundancy across states and streamlining testing.
- Confidential scoring: Technology providers receive reports with scores and detailed recommendations for improvement, and can choose how and when to share this information.
Addressing the Verification Problem
There is no standard, national-level process for verifying that non-voting election technology is secure, reliable, accessible, and usable. This puts elections jurisdictions at risk, burdens vendors with extra costs, and risks inconsistent and insecure outcomes.
Offering a Trusted Solution
RABET-V is a flexible, rapid, and cost-effective process for verifying vendor-provided and homegrown non-voting election technology. RABET-V assesses a product and the organization responsible for developing it by scoring its development process, architecture, and the product's performance to form a more complete picture of non-voting election technology.
For more details, please see our technical documentation.
- Comprehensive view: Conducts a holistic assessment of the technology producer’s development processes, the product’s architectures, and the product's performance.
- Actionable results: Provides reports on the assessments that support continual improvement and more clarity in procurements.
- Scalability potential: Uses the results from previous assessments and information about product changes to scale the level of testing for future versions.
The Value of RABET-V
- Rigorous methodology: A thorough approach to testing non-voting equipment.
- Rapidly retest for risks: A risk-based way to rapidly retest products after changes.
- Practical assurance: A cost-effective solution for ensuring verified products, and the most up-to-date versions of those products, are deployed in election environments.
- No cost to election offices: Election offices can request reports directly from vendors as part of procurement and review processes.
- Efficient process: Lowers overall costs to vendors and election offices by removing redundancy across states and streamlining testing.
- Confidential scoring: Technology providers receive reports with scores and detailed recommendations for improvement, and can choose how and when to share this information.
| Traditional Testing Approach | RABET-V Holistic Assessment |
| Struggles to keep pace with technology changes demanded by a continually changing threat environment. | Risk-based approach that is compatible with incremental changes. |
| Evaluates the product in isolation. | Evaluates the product in the context of the organization and the environment in which it is developed. |
| Accepts limited de minimis changes. Otherwise, requires full re-testing. | Scales to accept a variety of change types, from de minimis to full architecture changes. |
| Incurs fixed costs on a regular basis for verification. | Can dramatically lower cost over time. |
| Saves little to no time with reverification. | Facilitates re-verification in as little as hours depending on the maturity scores and the risk of the change. |
| Incentivizes large, infrequent changes, reducing responsiveness to an evolving threat environment. | Incentivizes continual improvement and incremental changes by simplifying verification and rewarding security maturity. |
| Typically requires redundant testing as part of the tailoring process. | Uses modularity by design and a simple delta-based approach to help meet specific state or local requirements, including for homegrown systems. |
What The Experts Are Saying
A Better Way to Test and Verify Election Technology
Our two-page handout covers all the major distinctions of RABET-V and includes information on how you can help shape its future.
Learn MoreHow to Improve Election Technology Verification
This proposal lays out the intent to develop and conduct a RABET-V Pilot Program and evaluate the RABET-V process.
Read the ProposalRABET-V Program Manual
This documentation covers the goal and scope of the RABET-V program. It also discusses the core three activities and explores the role of the RABET-V Administrator.
Read the DocumentationAssessor Accreditation
This document provides the process and requirements for attaining and maintaining status as an accredited assessor under the RABET-V program.
Read the DocumentRABET-V Pilot 1 Summary
In the summary of our first pilot, we explain what a permanent operational program for RABET-V should look like, how it should be administered, and what it would take to run it.
Read the ReportRABET-V Final Pilot Summary
We provide an overview of the pilot process for RABET-V, including what lessons we learned and how we'll use them to make RABET-V a permanent fixture in the election community.
Read the Report