Texas becomes the sixth state to approve Hart InterCivic’s VVSG 2.0‑certified Verity Vanguard voting system
AUSTIN, Texas – Hart InterCivic today announced that its Verity Vanguard voting system has been certified for use in the State of Texas, marking an important milestone for the nation’s first voting system to earn certification to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s (EAC) Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) 2.0. With Texas’ approval, Verity Vanguard is now certified in six states, expanding access to the latest voting system technology available.
Hart InterCivic extends its appreciation to the Texas Secretary of State’s office for its leadership and diligence throughout the certification process. The certification of Verity Vanguard reflects the Secretary of State’s commitment to ensuring that all Texas voters have access to election technology that meets the highest standards for security, reliability, and transparency, helping strengthen voter confidence in the election process statewide.
“Texas election officials now have access to advanced voting system technology that reflects the highest standards of security and integrity,” said Julie Mathis, CEO of Hart InterCivic. “This certification reflects our commitment to defense‑in‑depth security, transparency, and post‑election verification.”
A Rigorous, Independent Certification Process
Texas conducts one of the most thorough state certification processes in the nation. In addition to comprehensive federal testing and certification performed by the EAC and an independent Voting System Test Laboratory, Texas requires its own extensive review by a team of independent examiners. This dual‑layered process ensures that every component of a voting system is scrutinized for security, accuracy, reliability, and accessibility.
Hart’s Latest Generation of Security and Auditability
Verity Vanguard represents a new generation of election technology, built on the proven foundation of the Verity Voting system, which is currently deployed in more than 800 jurisdictions nationwide, to meet modern security challenges and evolving voter expectations.
Verity Vanguard’s security is guided by three core design principles, Secure by Design, Secure by Default, and Secure by Validation™, which inform how the system is architected, configured, and verified throughout the election lifecycle.
Key security and integrity features include:
• Defense‑in‑depth architecture that layers protections across hardware, software, and operational processes.
• A fully air‑gapped system design: Verity Vanguard is not connected to the internet or any external network in any way and is incapable of sending or receiving electronic data from outside systems.
• Strong access controls, cryptographic protections, and secure configuration defaults that reduce attack surfaces.
• Enhanced auditability with strong support for risk‑limiting audits (RLAs) and transparent post‑election verification processes.
• Votes are never stored or tabulated in barcodes or QR codes; voter selections are printed in plain text and counted exactly as voters can read and verify them.
• All votes are recorded on voterverified paper ballots, which serve as the official record for postelection audits and recounts.
Expanding Nationwide Availability
With Texas certification, Verity Vanguard is now approved for use in six states, with additional state certifications underway.
“Being first to VVSG 2.0 federal certification was only the beginning,” said Mathis. “With Texas approval, we’re excited to make this next‑generation technology available to our customers here in our home state.”
Learn more about Vanguard
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.
AUSTIN, Texas, July 8, 2025 – Hart InterCivic announces the historic VVSG 2.0 Election Assistance Commission (EAC) certification of its new product line, Vanguard. VVSG 2.0 is the latest set of national voting system standards and is the result of years of focused effort by federal, state, and industry experts dedicated to enhancing and safeguarding the nation’s election systems. In the EAC’s own words, “The VVSG 2.0 represents a significant advancement in defining standards that will serve as the cornerstone of the next generation of voting systems. It lays the groundwork for 21st century voting systems that are desperately needed with improved cybersecurity, accessibility, and usability requirements.”
Hart’s new Vanguard voting system also meets the challenge of the recent elections related Executive Order, making it the only voting system available in the United States that delivers on both the latest EAC standard and the conditions of the Executive Order (EO). This EO, 14248 “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections” states:
“…voting systems should not use a ballot in which a vote is contained within a barcode or quick-response code in the vote counting process… and should provide a voter-verifiable paper record to prevent fraud or mistake…”
Hart’s achievement as the first voting technology manufacturer to attain VVSG 2.0 certification highlights its dedication to election officials and their ability to deliver safe, secure, and transparent elections. By completing the rigorous penetration testing, usability testing, and stringent third-party functional testing called for in the latest standards, Hart demonstrates its commitment to enhancing voter confidence. Hart believes the EAC’s certification serves as a seal of trust, raising the bar for the entire election industry.
Introducing Vanguard: Defensible, Efficient, Adoptable
Vanguard is a platform for smart elections that fits seamlessly into election officials’ existing processes and technology, enabling them to move faster at every step of the election cycle. Vanguard’s purpose-built devices and enhanced security features make elections more defensible. By providing true voter-verifiable ballots with no voter selections in barcodes or QR codes, Vanguard is primed to significantly increase voter confidence in election results and sets Hart’s products ahead of others in the market. The importance of this commitment to transparency has been echoed in the recent national focus on enhancing voting system security.
Backed by market research, customer feedback, and significant investments in product development, this suite of election technology provides end-to-end election management with industry-leading security and innovations that exceed the latest EAC standards.
Boasting the smallest footprint in the market, it is easy to store, transport, and deploy. Additionally, Vanguard offers the widest range of accessibility features, designed in partnership with nationally recognized accessibility organizations.
“When the election industry began conversations about VVSG 2.0, Hart was eager to invest in the development of a new system because we recognized the need for voting systems that can withstand the evolving challenges of modern elections. With Vanguard, we are leading the industry with the first VVSG 2.0 certified voting system, are setting a new standard for election integrity and voter confidence, and are well-positioned for any future revisions to the standard. We applaud the EAC’s commitment and partnership in bettering elections, and we are excited to continue our leadership in revolutionizing the security, accessibility, and transparency of U.S. elections,” – Julie Mathis, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic.
Future Ready
Hart’s legacy product line, Verity, was the first in the industry to embrace security best practices like Secure Boot and Allow Listing, along with utilizing optical character recognition (OCR), instead of encoding voter selections in bar codes. With Vanguard, Hart continues these innovations and introduces new advanced features like Vanguard ID – the patented “always-on” device smart label and a layered, hardware-augmented Secure Boot to enhance security and reduce startup time.
“VVSG 2.0 may be new to the industry, but it is not new to Hart or Hart’s voting systems. Hart’s systems have always exceeded VVSG requirements, and Hart continues to innovate beyond the EAC’s standards. Vanguard is already ready for VVSG 2.1- in that it meets nearly all of the requirements of the EAC’s draft for a VVSG 2.1 standard. This is one more example of Hart’s unwavering commitment to revolutionizing election technology, ensuring that every vote is secure, accessible, and transparent. Hart is proud to lead the industry with advanced solutions that set a new standard for election integrity and voter confidence.” – Jim Canter, Chief Technology Officer of Hart InterCivic
Hart is a Trusted Provider
The goal of the EAC’s VVSG certification process is to improve the overall performance of election administration and the integrity of elections. EAC certification is crucial for voting technology companies as it establishes a new benchmark for security, transparency, and accessibility in elections. This certification underscores Hart’s position as a trusted provider of election technology and enhances voter confidence and election security across the U.S.
Learn more about the Vanguard product line by visiting Hart’s website, www.hartintercivic.com, or contacting the sales team, 800.223.4278.
About Hart InterCivic
Hart InterCivic, founded over 110 years ago in Austin, Texas, is a leading provider of election technology, serving customers across 20 states. Guided by principles like integrity, innovation, and intentionality, Hart enables election officials to conduct elections confidently and deliver accurate results with ease. Secure systems create ballots, capture voter choices, and audit results, improving public processes and systems.
Hart is inspired by the meaningful responsibility shared with customers, delivering the best outcomes for customers, the company, and the public good.
Hart InterCivic Media Contact:
Name: Steven Sockwell
Title: Vice President, Corporate Communications
Email: media@hartic.com
Phone: (512) 252-6409
Website: www.hartintercivic.com
The recent Executive Order from the White House has generated significant national interest in how voting systems used in the United States capture and record votes.
Specifically, the language of the Executive Order includes:
“…voting systems should not use a ballot in which a vote is contained within a barcode or quick-response code in the vote counting process… and should provide a voter-verifiable paper record to prevent fraud or mistake…”
Hart InterCivic has always been dedicated to security, transparency, and voter confidence. Consistent with that philosophy, we believe that electronic ballot marking devices must capture voters’ choices using the same method that voters used to verify their choices – by reading the plain text on the ballot.
No Hart voting system has ever tabulated votes from unreadable barcodes or QR codes.
Our ballot marking devices create true voter-verifiable paper records. Our tabulators use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to read, record, and tabulate voter selections directly from the plain language text on the page. This is true of our VVSG 1.0 certified system, Verity, which is used by hundreds of jurisdictions across the country, including some of the largest. It is also true of our new system, Vanguard, which is currently in the testing and federal certification process to the latest VVSG 2.0 standard.
For Hart customers, no change is required to EAC certification standards for voters to have a truly voter-verifiable ballot. Hart’s consistent commitment to safe, secure, efficient, and transparent elections ensures that our products utilize the most innovative, voter-centric features and technology. We don’t wait for regulators to mandate doing the right thing.
Hart’s competitors provide systems that do tabulate voter choices from barcodes or QR codes, claiming that it provides a faster, more efficient solution for their customers. This is not true. Hart’s patented, plain text method of capturing, recording, and tabulating votes via OCR is as fast and efficient as competing solutions (if not faster), while providing the added benefit of a truly voter-verifiable ballot and a higher degree of voter confidence in the voting system.
Hart’s voting systems support all paper-based voting methods used in the United States. Whether traditional hand-marked ballots, absentee/by-mail paper ballots, or paper ballots marked with an electronic voting device, no Hart system ever records or tabulates voter choices from an unreadable barcode or QR code.
For more information about Hart InterCivic, Verity, or Vanguard, visit www.hartintercivic.com or call us at 800-223-4278.
The Verity® Voting system from Hart InterCivic, a leading election provider of election technology, is gaining momentum in New York State due to a strong customer service reputation and proven secure technology. Both counties selected Hart’s Verity system, replacing their previous vendor’s decades old voting system. Election officials cited Hart’s renowned customer support and Verity’s ease-of-use as factors in their decisions to switch.
Herkimer County Board of Elections Commissioners Kim S. Tranter, Republican, and Rob Hoyt, Democrat, were concerned about spending taxpayer dollars wisely, choosing a trustworthy system, and protecting voter confidence.
Everything about Verity is easier, the Commissioners agree. “Any issue we had, it’s been corrected with the Verity machines,” Hoyt said, “right down to creating our own ballots.”
“Our poll workers were able to adapt to the new machines very quickly. They got to come in and learn hands-on.” Tranter said. “It’s easy for them to navigate,” Hoyt agreed.
Ultimately, the Commissioners’ satisfaction was built on a level of personal customer service seldom seen in the industry. The Commissioners praised Hart’s hands-on relationship building. County staff are on a first name basis with Hart representatives across the company — from project managers and sales reps to a Senior Vice President who came to visit during early voting for a tour.
“Customer service played a big role in us making a decision,” Hoyt said. “Even before we were customers, they were willing to help us with any questions we had. I’ve never experienced a company with customer service like this.”
“It was a very good experience and it’s a huge responsibility to choose new voting equipment and spend this kind of money on a machine, hoping it works the way you anticipate that it will,” Tranter said.
Another nearby county was also looking to make a change and had a similar experience with Hart.
Washington County Board of Elections Commissioners Tom Rogers, Republican, and Jeffrey Curtis, Democrat along with Democratic Deputy Commissioner Mindy Suprenant and Republican Deputy Commissioner Ashley Skogsberg wanted a new system in place in advance of the 2024 General Election. They didn’t believe their current machines or software would make it until 2025. About a year ago they began researching for a new voting system after a major problem printing their own ballots.
“We liked the Verity system from the outset,” Suprenant said.
“After several demos, our supervisors, administration and even our IT team were blown away with the Verity system,” Rogers said. “The whole process took a long time to evaluate, and as we learned more, we got very comfortable with Hart.”
Commissioners agree, Verity machines are consolidated, lighter weight, more efficient, and easier to use.
“It’s going to be easier for poll workers to set-up and tear-down, it’s going to be less complicated,” Rogers said. “For example, our current system is a 3-step process just to turn it on in the polling place and now [with Verity] it’s going to be one-step.”
“We liked the product, the efficiency, the software and while competitor’s prices were comparable, Verity had more to offer,” Rogers said. “We wanted to move forward with a new system for the November election and Hart was the only company that could do it for us.”
“Welcome to the Hart family! We look forward to sharing our brand of customer support, backing the best voting technology available,” said Julie Mathis, CEO and President of Hart InterCivic, an Austin-based company with more than 100 years of experience providing election solutions.
“Our election partners set a high bar for up-to-date, secure voting technology and demand the most responsive customer service. We understand that transitions can be complex, and we provide top-tier professional service to help customers adapt to new technology and processes,” Mathis added.
For more information about the Verity Voting system, please visit https://www.hartintercivic.com/voting-solutions/verityoverview/