Vote counting system

Election technology
Certification of voting machines Independent Testing Authority (ITA) NVLAP VVSG End-to-end auditable voting systems Help America Vote Act Independent verification systems Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment Software independence
Terminology
Central count or CCOS Overvote Precinct count or PCOS Undervote Residual vote or drop-off
Testing
Acceptance testing Qualification testing Software verification Usability testing
Technology
Absentee ballot Chad DRE voting machine Electronic voting Optical scan voting system Provisional ballot Voting machine Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail Vote counting system
Manufacturers
Election Systems & Software Hart InterCivic Premier Election Solutions (formerly Diebold Election Systems) Sequoia Voting Systems Smartmatic

There exist various methods through which the ballots cast at an election may be counted, prior to applying a voting system to obtain one or more winners.

Manual counting

Manual counting requires a physical ballot that represents voter intent. The physical ballots are read and interpreted; then results are individually tabulated.

Such a system may be used for recounts in areas where mechanical or automated counting systems are used.

Electromechanical and Optical scan counting

Further information: Optical scan voting system

Paper ballots, typically punched cards or marksense, are collected and fed into a machine to tabulate vote totals. Tabulation can occur with each individual ballot, or in batches.

Direct-recording voting (mechanical) counting

Voters selecting switches (levers), pushing plastic chips through holes, or pushing mechanical buttons which increment a mechanical counter (sometimes called the odometer) for the appropriate candidate.

Direct-recording electronic counting

Main article: DRE voting machine

Voting data and ballot images are recorded in memory components. Tabulation of the voting data stored in a removable memory component and as printed copy. The system may also provide a means for transmitting individual ballots or vote totals to a central location for consolidating and reporting results from precincts at the central location. This consolidation can be any subset of machines, such as all voting machines in a polling station, or all voting machines in a precinct, etc.

See also

• Recount
• Tally (voting)
• Electronic voting
• Voting machine
• Voting/Electoral system
• Ballot

External links

• The Election Technology Library research list - A comprehensive list of research relating to technology use in elections.
• E-Voting information from ACE Project
• AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project
• Electronic Voting Systems at the Open Directory Project
• Voting and Elections by Douglas W. Jones: Thorough articles about the history and problems with Voting Machinery
• Selker, Ted Scientific American Magazine Fixing the Vote October 2004
• The Machinery of Democracy: Voting System Security, Accessibility, Usability, and Cost from Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
• An index of articles on vote counting from the ACE Project guide to designing and administering elections