Voting Machines

Overview

Voting machines are devices used to cast, record, or count votes. The first widely used voting machine was introduced in the 1890s and relied on levers to cast votes, which were recorded by mechanical counters. Since then, technological advancements have introduced electronic systems that provide greater accessibility and faster ballot counting, though critics have expressed concerns about their security.

In the US, the most common voting machines are optical scanners, which read paper ballots that often resemble bubble sheets used in multiple-choice exams. Many polling stations also feature ballot marking devices, in which selections made on a touch screen are captured in a printed ballot or equivalent summary card. All ballots are scanned on-site or at centralized locations. In a small minority of jurisdictions, votes are cast and stored in the memory of direct-recording electronic machines, sometimes without a paper trail.

Before elections, voting machines undergo logic and accuracy testing, while post-election checks verify tallies before results are certified. Recounts are facilitated by paper records, which were available for about 98% of votes cast in the US in 2024. While no technology is hacker-proof, paper audits, keeping machines offline, and maintaining chain-of-custody logs for ballots and equipment help secure elections.

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