Straight Answers
Learn the facts behind the tools.
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Voting Systems
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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.
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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.
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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 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.
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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.
Electronic Poll Books
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No. Electronic poll books only check voters in and do not track or store votes. They only manage the voter list.
Voter Registration Systems
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Check back later
Electronic Ballot Delivery and Return
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No. These terms do not mean the same thing.
Electronic ballot delivery is one way to send a blank ballot. The voter may get it by email, fax, or a secure site. The voter prints it, marks it, and sends it back in the way allowed by the state. A state may allow electronic delivery but still require the voted ballot to come back on paper. In most states, the voter sends back a paper ballot by mail.
Electronic ballot return is one way to send back a voted ballot. If state law allows, the voter may use email, fax, or a secure site. This is allowed only in some states and usually only for a small group of voters, such as military voters, overseas voters, or some disabled voters.
Online voting uses one online system for the whole task. The voter gets, marks, and sends back the ballot in that system; the system also tabulates the votes. The whole voting process happens online.
Here is the main difference:
Electronic ballot delivery = getting a blank ballot online
Electronic ballot return = sending back a completed ballot online
Online voting = receiving, marking, sending, and counting the ballot online
Election Night Reporting
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Election Night Reporting, or ENR, shares unofficial vote totals with the public. Unofficial totals means they are not final. ENR does not count ballots. After polls close, election staff post updates as more results come in. Official election websites and news groups may show these unofficial numbers.
Tabulation means counting votes. ENR means sharing the totals. A wrong or delayed number on an ENR site does not change the ballots or the official count. Some ballots may still need to be counted or checked. Results become official only after election staff finish the required checks and certify them.
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Election officials use several checks before results become official.
Before Election Day, they run logic and accuracy tests. They use test ballots with known choices. The machine totals must match those choices.
After voting ends, officials compare the number of ballots cast with voter check-in records. They also review reports, seals, and other election records.
A post-election audit checks the machine count against paper ballots. Officials count a sample of paper ballots by hand and compare that count with the reported results.
A recount counts ballots again, usually in one close race. State law sets when audits and recounts take place.
Together, these checks help officials find errors and confirm the reported winners.
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State and local public officials run U.S. elections. Each state has its own rules. Most of the daily work takes place in counties, cities, or towns. The exact structure varies by state.
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No. Public officials run elections.
Private companies may make equipment, build software, or provide support. Testing and approval rules vary by state. Public officials stay in charge of the ballots, rules, count, and final results.
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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
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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.