Software errors and hacking concerns repopularized the use of paper ballots in US elections after decades of mechanical and years of paperless electronic voting machines.

A technician bought an old, likely-decommissioned voting machine from 2013 and took it apart to see how a would-be hacker might be able to exploit its vulnerabilities. Get a sense of the needs for secure, up-to-date voting machines with this...

The USA has seen some crazy elections. Election fraud is vanishingly rare now, but here are the craziest cases of election fraud in U.S. history.

The first televised presidential debates of 1960 were seemingly so consequential, candidates opted not to participate in one for 16 years. In the last 60 years, debate format has changed frequently as the political parties and news outlets vie for rules to either protect candidates or increase TV ratings. In this brief video, one expert suggests five interesting innovations to the debate format to make them more informative for the average US voter.

Since 1965, federal oversight has blocked thousands of state-level voting changes—including redistricting plans—by requiring approval for measures that could affect minority representation, a process scaled back by the Supreme Court in 2013.

Voter turnout reached 66% in 2020—the highest since 1908—and 64% in 2024, tied for second-highest with 1960. In 2024, Trump benefited from higher turnout among his prior voters and new voters.

Presidential pollsters in the US have had some embarrassing failures. Here’s a catalog of those miscalls, from the scholar who literally wrote the book on them.

At the start of the millennium, more than 68 million checks were processed daily. Amid the adoption of automated clearinghouse (ACH) payment systems, that number has sunk to 12 million a day.

Major retailers like Target have stopped accepting checks in recent years as real-time payment systems are increasingly being implemented across the US. This shift is considered an improvement in safety—as checks are vulnerable to fraud—but can lead to some exclusion for those without access to digital devices.

This University of California, Santa Barbara archive compiles presidential election data from 1789 to the present, including popular vote totals, turnout figures, and contextual resources that explain how the electoral process and political landscape have evolved.

What’s actually at stake when someone casts their vote in a US election? CNN’s “Election 101” podcast series provides ten episodes summarizing some of the basics of democratic elections. The ins and outs of voting are highlighted in 15-minute episodes on voter registration and voting by mail. Additional segments highlight how the electoral system works, how ballots are counted, the Electoral College, why it takes so long to get election results, and more.

This podcast episode examines the closest attempts in US history to eliminate the Electoral College, focusing on a major 1960s reform push—and why, despite broad support, it ultimately failed.

In the early 1900s, the US Treasury Department had a machine that washed and ironed old, soiled paper bills. The machine helped the Treasury save money by decreasing printing costs for new dollar bills, but had nothing to do with the modern understanding of money laundering.

As people reduced the frequency with which they paid for things in cash and change during the COVID-19 pandemic, opting for tap-to-pay systems or online shopping instead, the number of coins in circulation decreased. Those who did make cash purchases were more likely to keep their change at home rather than use it on a subsequent purchase.

The red–blue color scheme used on election night maps emerged in the 20th century as television networks adopted color graphics to make results easier to follow. The association of red with Republicans and blue with Democrats later became standardized.

This article breaks down demographic data to show what it means for American elections. According to the latest US Census, the US is growing increasingly diverse. As the population becomes more diverse, so does the electorate.

After 1877, former Confederate states passed poll taxes, literacy tests, property requirements, and grandfather clauses to disenfranchise Black voters—restrictions that remained in place for nearly a century until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Those original paper bills were called “greenbacks” or “demand notes.” Since then, paper money has evolved with different designs, names, and values. Today, it is solely issued by the Bureau of Engraving & Printing.

Ever wonder how much of each group make up the American voting bloc? Find raw data from the '16 and '18 elections broken out by a variety of factors (click on "validated voters database" link).

This Pudding interactive analyzes every mention of "democracy" in the Congressional Record over 145 years, charting how the word shifted from a partisan label to a concept, and tracking when lawmakers warned the system itself was under threat.

After multiple states sent competing electoral slates in 1876, Congress formed the Electoral Commission of 1877 to arbitrate the dispute, which ultimately awarded the presidency to Rutherford B. Hayes and prompted later reforms to the electoral count process.

In this article, Silver weighs the Electoral College's flaws—especially popular-vote inversions—against its advantages, arguing it can limit the effect of surplus votes in heavily one-sided states and encourage broader competition.

Signed into law in 1965, the Voting Rights Act aimed to end racial discrimination in voting. This resource traces its creation and explains how later court rulings have weakened its enforcement power over time.

The US Border Patrol's first automated surveillance system launched in 1970 with 177 ground sensors installed along a single section in California. The sensors had already been used in Vietnam, along the so-called McNamara Line, and were connected by radio transmitters to magnetic-tape computers. They were implemented to target people defined by law and deportable aliens.

An electronic funds transfer is the transfering of money from one bank account to another via computer-based systems. When it was first introduced, it was revolutionary. A video from 1980 aimed to explain the value of electronic funds transfer to consumers at the time.