No. People often use the term “voting machine” for many tools. One of those tools is a ballot marking device (BMD). A BMD helps a voter mark a paper ballot. Another of those tools is a tabulator. A tabulator, also called a scanner, counts ballots. Neither tool “flips” votes.

A BMD is an electronic pen. BMDs give the voter a paper ballot that the voter can check before casting. If they approve of the selection, the paper ballot is then fed into a tabulator/scanner to count the votes.

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 problem with the screen, not because someone hacked the machine or told the machine to change a vote. If this happens to you, alert election staff and ask to use a different BMD.

Before each election, officials test BMDs and tabulator/scanners in public. After the election, they also check paper ballots by hand to make sure the tabulator counts are right. BMDs and tabulators/scanners are not connected to the internet during voting or counting. This ensures results can be checked and trusted.

A BMD is an electronic pen, not a vote counter. BMDs are incorrectly called “voting machines.”

A BMD lets voters make choices on a screen or keypad and then prints a paper ballot. Voters can see and verify that paper ballot before casting it. Then the voter puts the paper into a scanner or a secure ballot box. That printed paper becomes the official ballot of record. It can be used later for audits and recounts.

Some places used ballot marking devices for all voters, while others provide at least one per polling place to serve voters with disabilities.

Not during voting or counting. People often use the term “voting machine” for many tools. One of those tools is a ballot marking device (BMD). A BMD helps a voter mark a paper ballot. Another of those tools is a tabulator. A tabulator, also called a scanner, counts ballots. Neither BMDs or tabulators/scanners are connected to the internet during voting or counting.

Other election tools may use networks. These may include electronic poll books and election night reporting software. Those tools do not mark or count votes.

It counts votes.

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.

An air gap is a physical separation between systems. The systems have no direct network link. Election offices keep voting systems off the internet (air gapped) while votes are marked and counted.

A worker must use a controlled manual step to move data. This may include an approved USB drive, memory card, or other removable device.

Yes. A paper ballot is election technology.

It records a vote in a form the voter can check and a scanner or person can count. Many ballots use watermarks or other marks that help prove they are real. Election offices protect ballots through chain of custody. Paper ballots also let officials check results without relying only on software.

Software independence means election results do not depend only on trusting computer software. The system creates separate evidence that officials can check against the software count.

In a paper-based voting system, the paper ballot provides that evidence. Voters can review their paper ballots before casting them. After the election, officials can compare paper ballots with the software totals. They may do this through post-election audits, recounts, and certification checks. This means election results do not depend only on trusting computer software. If the paper and electronic records do not match, officials can find and correct the problem before certification.

Think of it like a store receipt. The computer records the sale, but the receipt gives a separate record that people can check