Know the tools.
Trust the results.

We explain how election tech works—in plain English—so every voter feels confident.

How Election Tech Works

Ballots & Scanners

Marking &
counting votes

Common Data Format

Interoperability & standardization

Electronic Poll Books

Check-in
systems

More guides coming soon.

No. Voting machines use a paper record that the voter can check before casting the ballot. This paper record is the official ballot.
If the paper does not match what the voter chose, the voter can ask to have the ballot replaced and start again. Sometimes people say a screen showed the wrong choice. This may happen because of a screen problem, not because someone hacked the machine or told the machine to change a vote.
Before each election, officials test the machines in public. After the election, they also check paper ballots by hand to make sure the machine counts are right. The voting machines and computers used to vote and count ballots are not connected to the internet, so the results can be checked and trusted.
Election Night Reporting, or ENR, is how election offices share vote totals with the public on election night.
After the polls close, officials post updates so people can see how many votes each candidate has. These results are often shared on official election websites. News groups may also share the numbers.
Election Night Reporting is not the same as tabulation.
- Tabulation means counting votes.
- Election Night Reporting means sharing those vote totals with the public.
The numbers shown on election night are not final results. Officials may still need time to count and check ballots before the final results are announced. Election Night Reporting is not connected to the voting system, since the voting system is never online.

After a vote is cast, paper ballots are counted by tabulators, also called scanners. The tabulator reads the votes and adds them up.
The paper ballots are securely stored, so results can be checked later through audits or recounts.
Election results in the U.S. are checked through audits. These checks help make sure the reported winners really got the most votes.
Before an election, local officials test the equipment. After the election, they check ballots, seals, and printed results. They also compare paper ballots or paper records with the machine counts, in most cases including a random sample hand count of ballots.
The main goal of an audit is to make sure the paper records match the reported results and to find any problems.