The National Science Foundation is gearing up to award a $7.5m grant to create a trustworthy electronic voting system.

The independent, federally funded US agency plans to support the project across six institutions that will be lead by John Hopkins University.

The project, dubbed Accurate (for: A Center for Correct, Usable, Reliable, Auditable and Transparent Elections) will focus on both the required hardware, software, encryption and verification of an electronic voting system.

In addition to that, the researchers will look at how the technology will impact public policy to create a safer voting system.

Electronic voting is a hot issue in the US after the 2000 presidential elections, when an outdated voting system in the state of Florida resulted in a lengthy process of recounts and legal procedures.