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In the United States, election administration is decentralized, meaning no central federal agency collects and publishes election results. Instead, the US voting system is handled by thousands of local offices, each following standards set by individual states. In many cases, states themselves do not provide real-time election result tracking.
Despite this decentralized setup, experts generally regard the U.S. election system as reliable. This is mainly because many American voters still use hand-marked paper ballots, which are then counted by optical scanners.
Although electronic voting systems have developed over the years, they have not seen broad adoption. Paperless electronic voting, which gained attention for its efficiency in quickly and accurately tallying votes, has decreased significantly in popularity across the U.S. and Europe since the mid-2000s.
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How Are Votes Counted?
According to Verified Voting, an organization monitoring voting technology, nearly 70% of registered U.S. voters are in areas that primarily use hand-marked paper ballots. An electronic scanner usually processes these ballots, though manual counting is occasionally used.
About 23% of voters live in jurisdictions using ballot marking devices (BMDs). BMDs allow voters to select their choices electronically, generating a paper record for scanning.
Roughly 7% of registered voters are in areas that use direct recording electronic (DRE) machines, which record votes directly in electronic memory. Some of these machines create a paper trail, while others do not. In 2024, Louisiana will be the only state where all voters will use DREs without a paper printout, while in Nevada, about 95.4% of voters will use DREs with paper verification.
Counting and Verifying Results
Optical scanners count the ballots and tabulate the results after voters mark them, whether by hand or via BMDs. Given the rigorous standards applied to ballot production today, this process runs smoothly.
Once the initial counting and tabulation are complete, states have varying timeframes to audit the results manually or through machine verification. Most states also have guidelines for recounts, often triggered by narrow victory margins.
Finally, election officials must issue Certificates of Ascertainment, documenting the certified, final vote totals by a specific deadline. This election cycle’s deadline is December 11—more than a month after Election Day.
What Does the Future Hold?
Interest in online voting is rising, and countries like Germany, Canada, and Mexico have experimented with internet-based voting. However, security and verification challenges present significant obstacles to adopting such systems widely.
Blockchain technology, popular in finance, has also sparked interest as a potential voting solution due to its decentralized, tamper-resistant nature. A blockchain voting system could work by registering voters on a blockchain app, enabling them to vote via smartphone. A paper ballot would then be produced locally for tabulation.
Security remains a primary concern, as any software can be compromised. The tried-and-true method of hand-marking and counting ballots remains the most trusted approach.
