Austin, Texas – Hart InterCivic proudly announces a series of historic milestones in Washington State, reaffirming its role as a national leader in election innovation and technology.
Washington has officially become the first state in the nation to certify Verity Vanguard, the first U.S. voting system approved under the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s VVSG 2.0 standards. This certification establishes a new benchmark for election security, accessibility, and reliability across the country.
In addition to statewide certification, Douglas and Chelan Counties have become the first counties in Washington to adopt Verity Vanguard. Their adoption marks the beginning of a transformative chapter in Washington’s election administration.
Washington’s Milestones Include:
- First state in the nation to certify Verity Vanguard
- EAC’s first VVSG 2.0 certified voting system approved by a state
- Douglas and Chelan Counties become Vanguard’s first county customers in Washington
“We are honored to celebrate this milestone with Washington’s election professionals,” said Julie Mathis – President and CEO at Hart InterCivic. “Their leadership reinforces the state’s long-standing commitment to secure, transparent, and future-ready elections.”
Vanguard, a next generation system built on the highest federal guidelines, provides election officials with innovative tools designed to increase efficiency, strengthen public trust, and deliver a fully defensible voting process.
Washington’s state certification and early adoptions mark a significant move forward in building reliable and trusted elections, setting a precedent for innovation that could inspire progress throughout the country.
Austin, Texas – Hart InterCivic is proud to announce that Rankin County, Mississippi has made history as a national leader in election innovation with its selection of Verity Vanguard, the first voting system certified under VVSG 2.0, the latest federal standards for security, accessibility, and auditability.
Rankin County becomes not only Mississippi’s first Vanguard customer, but also
- The first county in the nation to use Vanguard in both a federal and state election
- Mississippi’s first Vanguard customer
“Rankin County continues to demonstrate exceptional leadership in strengthening election trust and transparency,” said Julie Mathis, CEO and President of Hart InterCivic. “Their decision sends a clear signal that Mississippi is ready to embrace secure and efficient election technology.”
As the first VVSG 2.0 certified voting system in the nation, Vanguard introduces a suite of advancements including efficient ballot printing, universal ballot marking, and secure vote capture; all designed to support counties with an efficient and transparent election process.
Rankin County’s adoption of Vanguard represents a major milestone for the State of Mississippi and sets the foundation for expanded innovation across the region.
Hart InterCivic is aware of the October 13, 2025, article in the Washington Examiner focused on our company, and that it was updated on November 9, 2025 with an Editor’s Note which includes:
The Washington Examiner is not aware of any election fraud by Hart InterCivic nor of its having operated with a political bias that impacted its operations, products, or the outcome of any election.
Hart is an impartial and independent U.S. technology company with more than 100 years of experience providing American-made election solutions, designed and manufactured in Texas.
Hart’s day-to-day operations, strategy, and product development are strictly managed by our skilled management team in Texas with decades of proven success in developing best-in-class election technology systems. Our board of directors meets quarterly, focusing on financial advice and risk management. The board plays no role in the design, development, or implementation of our election systems.
Hart has a stellar track record of providing secure and accurate election systems across 20 states. That record is confirmed through extensive testing and certification by independent and accredited laboratories at both the federal and state levels. In the last 10 years alone, our technology has completed the federal testing process managed by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) 13 times and has received certification from the EAC every time. In that same time period, Hart election systems have also completed 86 unique state certifications.
Further, local officials running their elections on Hart voting systems test their devices for accuracy before, during, and after every election. Hart voting systems produce paper ballots that are voter verifiable and enable hand-count verification of results. Hart has always supported robust, software-independent post-election audits.
Hart election technology is the most advanced and secure in the nation. Hart will continue to take steps to defend our company, our customers, and the voters who use our systems against false or misleading claims about the integrity of our voting systems.
Hart currently has the only EAC certified voting system in Texas
that meets the recent 2025 HAVA Election Security Grant advisory.
The original Texas SOS Elections Division message dated August 25, 2025, stated that voting systems using QR codes or barcodes would not be approved for HAVA Election Security Grant funds usage. Hart immediately contacted the Texas SOS Elections Division office to clarify that our ballots do include these elements but never encode voter selections.
The TX SOS Elections Division has since issued a correction:
“Ballot marking devices that utilize a barcode or QR code to encode a voter’s selections on the ballot will not be approved even if it is currently certified. This includes systems that vendors anticipate making modifications to for recertification. Systems that use a barcode or QR code but do not encode a voter’s selections on the ballot are still eligible for funding.”
Hart Voting Systems are Eligible for HAVA Grant Funds
Hart systems do not encode voter selections in QR or barcodes. Our QR codes and barcodes are used exclusively for non-vote data such as precinct information, ballot type, and accessibility settings. This approach improves scanning speed, preserves ballot space, and enhances the voter experience, especially for those using assistive technologies.
Hart ballots are fully voter-verifiable, what voters see is what is used for tabulation.
To learn more about “Why Hart Has Never Stored Votes in Barcodes” read our recent news article: Decoding the Ballot: Why Hart InterCivic Has Never Stored Votes in Barcodes – Hart InterCivic
If you have questions on this topic, please contact us at 1.800.223.4278 or email info@hartic.com.
As the Verified Voting article “Decoding Your Ballot” makes clear, QR codes and barcodes are useful for identifying ballot styles and precincts—but when it comes to encoding actual votes, they fall short of the transparency voters deserve.
That’s why Hart InterCivic has never stored or tabulated votes using barcodes or QR codes. Our systems are built on a simple but powerful principle: voters should be able to read and verify their selections — and know that what they see is what gets counted.
“Hart’s ballots are tabulated by scanners using patented Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to read the human-readable text printed on the ballot,” said Jim Canter, Chief Technology Officer at Hart InterCivic. “QR codes and barcodes make sense for ballot styles, but they shouldn’t be used to encode votes. Voters should be able to read their BMD-printed vote selections and review what the tabulator will scan to count their votes.”
The recent Executive Order from the White House reinforces this approach, mandating that ballots used in U.S. elections must not contain votes encoded in barcodes or QR codes. This is a win for transparency, voter confidence, and election integrity.
At Hart, we don’t wait for mandates to do the right thing. We build our systems with the voter in mind—because democracy deserves nothing less.
Hart’s Verity® and Vanguard™ systems already meet this standard. Our ballot marking devices print selections in plain text, and our tabulators read exactly what the voter sees—no translation, no hidden codes, no ambiguity.
We applaud Verified Voting for helping voters understand the risks of barcode-based vote encoding and for highlighting the importance of voter-verifiable paper trails. At Hart, we’re proud to say: we’ve been doing it right all along.
For more information, visit Hart’s recent article, “Hart and Barcodes – Doing the Right Thing“.
On July 7, 2025, in a landmark moment for election technology, Hart InterCivic’s Verity Vanguard officially became the first voting system certified to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s (EAC’s) Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) 2.0. The announcement was made during a public meeting hosted virtually by the EAC on July 16, 2025, where Commissioners, EAC staff, Hart InterCivic, and SLI Compliance (the federally-approved, independent voting system test laboratory (VSTL) discussed the certification process and what lies ahead for VVSG 2.0 systems.
“The first voting system certified to VVSG 2.0 marks a major milestone in the EAC’s commitment to advancing the next generation of voting systems. Hart Verity Vanguard is the first system certified to these standards, but it will not be the last. The EAC staff has done great work to make this new standard a reality,” said EAC Chairman Donald Palmer, Vice Chair Thomas Hicks, Commissioner Christy McCormick, and Commissioner Ben Hovland in a joint statement.
The certification of Hart’s Vanguard system is not only a technical achievement—it’s a proud moment for the company and a testament to its leadership in secure, accessible, and forward-looking election technology.
“It was clear early on that Hart had done their homework, working through requirement questions with EAC, prior to and during their development effort. Vanguard proved to be a well-architected and implemented system,” said Mike Santos of SLI Compliance during the meeting.
VVSG 2.0, adopted unanimously by the EAC in 2021, introduces a modernized framework for voting systems. It includes stronger cybersecurity protections, improved accessibility, and support for modular and flexible system designs. Hart’s Vanguard system is the first to meet these rigorous standards, setting a new benchmark for the industry.
“This is a proud day for Hart InterCivic,” said Julie Mathis, CEO of Hart InterCivic. “Being the first to achieve VVSG 2.0 certification reflects our deep commitment to innovation, integrity, and supporting election officials with the most secure and reliable technology available.”
While federal certification is a critical milestone, several steps remain before voters interact with VVSG 2.0-certified systems at the polls. Jurisdictions must complete state-level testing and certification, secure funding, conduct procurement planning, provide staff training, and carry out public testing. Hart InterCivic is actively partnering with election offices across multiple states to support these efforts and ensure a smooth transition.
The EAC has emphasized that it will continue to assist jurisdictions throughout this process to ensure that all systems deployed are secure, accurate, and accessible. The VVSG 2.0 guidelines were designed with the future in mind – addressing the evolving challenges of election administration while enhancing the voter experience and reinforcing trust in the electoral process.
The full recording of the EAC’s public meeting is available here, and the official announcement can be found here.