A more secure method, they say, is a system that uses paper ballots and electronic tabulation with post-election reviews and tests to ensure the machines faithfully recorded voters’ choices.

Elsewhere, the ballots are collected in a secured box, with rules governing the chain of custody, and taken to an election office for electronic tabulation.įor years, election security experts raised concerns about these “direct-recording” machines and the potential for someone to tamper with them. In many cases, this happens at the polling location.

For in-person voting, most people fill out ballots by hand, and those ballots are inserted into an electronic tabulator. The types of voting equipment used throughout the U.S. The Associated Press explains how we got to this point, the efforts to increase security of the vote and the fallout from the false claims surrounding the 2020 presidential election. Voting equipment is tested before and after to identify any problems, while audits done after the election confirm it worked correctly. While programming errors sometimes occur and equipment can malfunction, no major problems have been reported. After nearly two years, no evidence has emerged that voting machines were manipulated to steal the election or that there was any widespread fraud.Ĭonspiracy theories spread online and in forums across the country nevertheless have undermined public confidence in voting machines and election results, while leading some counties to consider ditching the equipment in favor of hand-marked and hand-counted ballots.Įlections have been held across the country this year during a busy primary season. ATLANTA (AP) - Former President Donald Trump and his allies have whipped up a relentless campaign of attacks against voting equipment since his loss in the 2020 election.

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