Pro V&V
Pro V&V is a U.S. voting-system testing laboratory that has been authorized to certify election technology for the Election Assistance Commission.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Pro V&V is a privately held voting-system testing and verification laboratory based in Huntsville, Alabama. The company evaluates election technology and has worked within the United States Election Assistance Commission’s voting-system testing and certification framework. In 2021, it was one of only two organizations authorized by the EAC to certify voting systems in the United States, alongside SLI Compliance. The company was founded in 2011, according to statements by president and director Jack Cobb. Cobb had previously worked as a project manager at Ciber and at Wyle Laboratories. Pro V&V was reported to have a small staff, consisting of approximately a dozen employees and two contractors as of 2021. Its early financing included an SEC Form D disclosure identifying an investor contribution, although the company is not publicly listed and detailed financial information is not generally available. Pro V&V received EAC accreditation in 2015. Its certification status was not continuously updated between 2017 and 2019 because of what the EAC described as an administrative error. The agency said the laboratory remained in good standing and underwent audits, including reviews in 2018 and 2021. The company was re-certified in February 2021. Cobb characterized the lapse as politically motivated in comments reported by The Arizona Republic, while the EAC described it as administrative. Beyond its U.S. federal work, Pro V&V has supported the Philippine Commission on Elections, or COMELEC, since 2018. Its work has included review of source code for software used to count overseas votes in the 2025 Philippine general election, which was described as the country’s first election to use Internet voting. Cobb rejected the idea that the system could be considered completely immune from hacking, while arguing that changing encryption and digital keys before deployment would reduce the usefulness of any information obtained by attackers. The company and its personnel have also appeared in legal and political controversies concerning election technology. In a 2020 federal court proceeding, a judge stated that Cobb lacked specialized expertise in cybersecurity testing, cybersecurity analysis, or cybersecurity risk analysis, and that he had not personally performed security testing referenced in affidavits. Cobb confirmed to The Arizona Republic that he was not a cybersecurity expert. Separately, Clay Parikh, who said he had worked for voting-machine testing laboratories including Pro V&V, testified in litigation connected with Kari Lake’s attempt to challenge the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election. Parikh had also appeared at an election-denial event hosted by Mike Lindell. In 2024, the election-integrity organization SMART Elections criticized Pro V&V’s approval of updates affecting Dominion and Election Systems & Software systems. The group said the updates were classified as de minimis and therefore did not require testing, and argued that the scope of the changes created malware-related risks. Pro V&V president Jack Cobb denied the allegations in comments reported by Newsweek in 2025. The organization’s website was also reported to have displayed errors from at least mid-2024 and to have become nonfunctional by February 2025. Publicly available information does not establish that Pro V&V ceased operations; its current corporate status and website availability require verification.
History
Pro V&V was founded in 2011, according to president and director Jack Cobb. Before leading the company, Cobb worked as a project manager at Ciber until 2007 and later worked for Wyle Laboratories. The company developed as a small specialist laboratory focused on testing and verification of voting systems rather than as a voting-machine manufacturer or election administrator. The laboratory entered the U.S. Election Assistance Commission certification system and received EAC accreditation in 2015. EAC accreditation is significant because it permits a testing laboratory to evaluate voting systems against applicable federal requirements within the U.S. certification program. Pro V&V’s certification record later became a subject of scrutiny. The EAC said that the company did not have an updated certification from 2017 through 2019 because of an administrative error, but maintained that Pro V&V was in good standing. The company underwent audits in 2018 and 2021 and was re-certified in February 2021. Cobb offered a different characterization, telling The Arizona Republic that the issue was political. By 2021, Pro V&V reportedly had around twelve employees and two contractors. Its work made it one of the two organizations authorized by the EAC to certify voting systems in the United States, together with SLI Compliance. The company’s role placed it between election authorities, voting-system vendors, and federal certification requirements. It has evaluated or approved technology associated with major voting-system suppliers, including Dominion Voting Systems and Election Systems & Software. Pro V&V expanded its international work through a relationship with the Philippine Commission on Elections, known as COMELEC, beginning in 2018. The company later worked on source code for software used in counting overseas votes in the 2025 Philippine general election. That election was reported as the first in the Philippines to use Internet voting. Cobb argued that the system’s encryption and digital keys could be changed before a subsequent election, but also acknowledged that no Internet-connected election system could honestly be described as completely hack-proof. The company’s credibility and the qualifications of people associated with it became part of wider disputes over election security. In a 2020 U.S. District Court matter, the judge wrote that Cobb did not possess specialized expertise in cybersecurity testing, cybersecurity analysis, or cybersecurity risk analysis, and had not personally conducted the security testing described in his affidavits. Cobb later confirmed to The Arizona Republic that he was not a cybersecurity expert. These comments did not by themselves establish that Pro V&V was unauthorized to perform its accredited laboratory functions, but they became relevant to public debate about the scope of its expertise. Clay Parikh later testified for Kari Lake’s effort to overturn the result of the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election. Parikh said that he had worked for voting-machine testing laboratories, including Pro V&V, between 2008 and 2017. He had also spoken at an election-denial summit hosted by Mike Lindell. His testimony brought the company’s name into litigation and political disputes surrounding voting-machine security and election administration. In 2024, Pro V&V approved software and hardware updates connected with Dominion and Election Systems & Software systems. SMART Elections, a nonpartisan election-integrity organization that includes academics and activists, said that the changes were treated as de minimis and consequently did not receive the testing it considered appropriate. The organization warned that insufficient review of comprehensive updates could create an avenue for malware to enter voting systems. In 2025, Newsweek reported that Cobb rejected those allegations. The company’s website was also reported to have displayed error messages from at least July 2024 and to have been nonfunctional by February 2025. Available reference material does not provide enough evidence to determine whether that web outage represented a permanent closure or a temporary technical problem.
- 2025
Philippine Internet-voting work reported
[1]Pro V&V worked on source code for software used to count overseas votes in the Philippines’ 2025 general election.
- 2024
Approves updates later criticized by SMART Elections
[1]Pro V&V approved updates associated with Dominion and Election Systems & Software systems; SMART Elections later disputed the adequacy of the review.
- 2022
Personnel connected with Arizona election litigation
[1]Clay Parikh, who reported prior work for Pro V&V, testified in Kari Lake’s effort to challenge the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election.
- 2021
Re-certified by the EAC
[1]Pro V&V was re-certified by the Election Assistance Commission in February 2021 and remained one of the two EAC-authorized U.S. voting-system certification organizations reported at that time.
- 2018
Audited during certification-status dispute
[1]The EAC identified an administrative lapse in updated certification records and stated that Pro V&V remained in good standing; the company underwent an audit during this period.
- 2018
Begins work with Philippine election authorities
[1]Pro V&V began working with COMELEC in the Philippines.
- 2015
EAC accreditation
[1]Pro V&V received accreditation from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
- 2011
Company founded
[1]Jack Cobb stated that Pro V&V was founded in 2011 as a specialist voting-system testing laboratory.
Products and positioning
A specialized, independent election-technology testing laboratory serving government election authorities and voting-system vendors.
Professional testing service
Voting-system testing and certification
Pro V&V tests voting-system hardware and software within the U.S. Election Assistance Commission framework. Its laboratory role involves evaluating election technology for compliance and supporting certification decisions rather than selling voting machines directly. The company has been one of the small number of laboratories authorized to certify voting systems for the U.S. federal program.
Software verification service · 2018
Election software source-code review
The company has reviewed election software source code for government election authorities. Its international work with the Philippine Commission on Elections included source-code work for software used to count overseas votes in the 2025 Philippine general election, an election reported as the Philippines’ first to use Internet voting.
Controversies
2025
Criticism of de minimis approvals for voting-system updates
SMART Elections alleged that Pro V&V had approved broad updates affecting Dominion and Election Systems & Software systems as de minimis changes that did not require testing. The group warned that this could increase malware risk; Cobb denied the allegations in reporting by Newsweek.
2020
Court questioned Cobb’s cybersecurity qualifications
In a U.S. District Court proceeding, the judge stated that Jack Cobb lacked specialized expertise in cybersecurity testing, analysis, and risk analysis, and had not personally performed security testing referenced in affidavits. Cobb confirmed that he was not a cybersecurity expert.
Brand decisions
2024
Classifies selected voting-system updates as de minimisOtherBackground
Updates associated with Dominion and Election Systems & Software systems were approved without the testing that SMART Elections said should have been required for comprehensive changes.
Action taken
Pro V&V approved the updates under a de minimis classification.
Aftermath
SMART Elections criticized the decision and warned of potential malware risks; Jack Cobb later denied the allegations.
2021
Re-certification after EAC reviewOtherBackground
The EAC reported that Pro V&V had lacked an updated certification during part of 2017–2019 because of an administrative error, while describing the laboratory as in good standing.
Action taken
The laboratory underwent audits and was re-certified in February 2021.
Aftermath
Pro V&V remained one of the two EAC-authorized organizations reported as able to certify voting systems in the United States.
Sources1 sources
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