Voting Equipment

Overview

On this page, find details about North Carolina’s voting systems certifications, documents, and more information about the voting systems used by all counties. Also, review Election Day voting equipment by county and one-stop early voting equipment by county within the interactive maps below.

Voting Systems Certification

Voting Systems Certification Manual (PDF) (Amended June 2019)

• Before any piece of election equipment can be used in North Carolina elections, it must be certified by the State Board of Elections.
• This ensures that voting systems remain reliable, accurate, user-friendly, accessible to persons with disabilities, and capable of secure operation.
• NCSBE administers a certification program for any election systems vendor looking to do business in North Carolina.

Certified Voting Systems Documents

The following voting systems products are approved for use in North Carolina. Currently, only systems from ES&S and Hart InterCivic are used by N.C. counties.

• ES&S Voting System 5.2.4.0:
  • ES&S Voting System 5.2.4.0 Product Overview (PDF)
  • ES&S Voting System 5.2.4.0 EAC Certification (PDF)
  • ES&S Voting System 5.2.4.0 Independent Lab Report (PDF)
  • ES&S Voting System 5.2.4.0 Other State/Jurisdiction Certifications (PDF)
  • ES&S Voting System 5.2.4.0 N.C. Certification (PDF) (Note: This system was an upgrade of a previously certified system (view Notice of Certification (PDF)), ES&S Voting System 5.2.2.0, and was administratively approved in 2019)
  • ES&S Voting System 5.2.4.0 N.C. Certification Documents (PDF)
  • ES&S Voting System 5.2.4.0 Price List (PDF)
  • ES&S Voting System 5.2.4.0 Certification Status: Certified
• ES&S Unity 3.4.1.1:
  • ES&S Unity 3.4.1.1 Product Overview (PDF) (Note: This system was an upgrade of a previously certified system, Unity 3.4.1.0, and was administratively approved in 2015.)
  • ES&S Unity 3.4.1.1 N.C. Certification Documents (PDF)
  • The base Unity 3.4.1.0 is EAC-certified.
  • ES&S Unity 3.4.1.0 EAC Certification Documents
  • ES&S Unity 3.4.1.1 Certification Status: Certified

• ES&S Unity 3.0.1.1:
  • Unity 3.0.1.1 is approved under the former voting systems program of the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED), which predates the EAC certification program.
  • ES&S Unity 3.0.1.1 NASED Certification Documents (PDF)
  • ES&S Unity 3.0.1.1 N.C. Certification Documents (PDF)
  • ES&S Unity 3.0.1.1 Certification Status: Certified
• Hart InterCivic Verity 2.5:
  • Hart InterCivic Verity 2.5 EAC Certification (PDF)
  • Hart InterCivic Verity 2.5 Independent Lab Report (PDF)
  • Hart InterCivic Verity 2.5 Other State/Jurisdiction Certifications (PDF)
  • Hart InterCivic Verity 2.5 Certification Status: Certified
• Hart InterCivic Verity 2.2:
  • Hart InterCivic Verity 2.2 Product Overview (PDF)
  • Hart InterCivic Verity 2.2 EAC Certification (PDF)
  • Hart InterCivic Verity 2.2 Independent Lab Report (PDF)
  • Hart InterCivic Verity 2.2 Other State/Jurisdiction Certifications (PDF)
  • Hart InterCivic Verity 2.2 N.C. Certification Documents (PDF)
  • Hart InterCivic Verity 2.2 Price List (PDF)
  • Hart InterCivic Verity 2.2 Certification Status: Certified
• Clear Ballot ClearVote 1.4:
  • Clear Ballot ClearVote 1.4 Product Overview (PDF)
  • Clear Ballot ClearVote 1.4 EAC Certification (PDF)
  • Clear Ballot ClearVote 1.4 Independent Lab Report (PDF)
  • Clear Ballot ClearVote 1.4 Other State/Jurisdiction Certifications (PDF)
  • Clear Ballot ClearVote 1.4 N.C. Certification Documents (PDF)
  • Clear Ballot ClearVote 1.4 Price List (PDF)
  • Clear Ballot ClearVote 1.4 Certification Status: Certified

Voting Systems by County

• Almost all N.C. voters use paper ballots, marked either by hand or with a ballot-marking device, providing a paper trail of all votes cast that can be audited or recounted by elections officials. (Note: Military and overseas voters, as well as visually impaired voters, may request, access, and return an absentee ballot using a designated online portal maintained by the State Board.)
• All 100 counties comply with federal law by having ballot-marking devices available at every polling place for any voter who needs or wishes to use one to mark a ballot independently.
• Voting systems from three different vendors – Clear Ballot, Election Systems and Software (ES&S), and Hart InterCivic are approved for use in N.C. elections. The systems of two vendors – ES&S and Hart – are currently used by N.C. counties.
• North Carolina law requires that voting systems meet certain federal and state requirements. The federal requirements are found in Section 301 of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) (PDF). State requirements are found in sections 163-165.7, -165.8, -165.9, and -165.9A of the North Carolina General Statutes; in Chapter 4 of Title 8 of the North Carolina Administrative Code; and in the State Board’s Voting System Certification Manual (PDF).

• All voting systems are certified by the State Board of Elections after undergoing mandatory testing by nationally accredited laboratories. All systems used in North Carolina have been tested, used, and audited in other states.

• Federal EAC certification—to be distinguished from the federal requirements in Section 301 of HAVA—is not mandated for all voting systems by federal or state law. Nonetheless, as of 2017, per State Board policy, all newly certified voting systems must meet the standards set forth in the most recent version of the EAC’s Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG), which is the standard used to achieve federal EAC certification.
• Each of the 100 county boards of elections, in conjunction with their county board of commissioners, decides which approved voting system will best serve their voters. County purchase of any new system may only come after public demonstrations of the equipment and test use in an election or simulated election.
• Once certified as a voting system in North Carolina, the vendor must deposit the system’s source code with the state’s approved escrow agent, post a bond or line of credit (currently $17.01 million) to offset the cost of a new statewide election in the event of a defect in the voting system, and establish an office with support personnel in the state.
• Under state law, voting equipment may not be connected to the internet or use wireless access, limiting the possibility of outside interference.

Election Day Voting Equipment by County

Interactive Map

For an alternative format to find the information in the map, review the table view below.

Table View

One-Stop Early Voting Equipment by County

Interactive Map

For an alternative format to find the information in the map, review the table view below.

Table View