Category Overview

Voting Systems — Election Security Glossary

1,792 election security terms in the Voting Systems category, with definitions sourced from NIST, CISA, EAC, and 30+ authoritative documents.

Browse all 1,792 terms in Voting Systems

Ballot Subset

The portion of a on which a voter is eligible to vote.

Medium consensus1 source

Ballot Tally Software Program

The "computer program or programs used to tally voted ballots in an election." Cal.

Medium consensus1 source

Ballot Template

A form of for visually impaired voters.

Medium consensus1 source

Ballot Transport Container

A "container used by the chief election officer or the clerk to transport ballots." Hawaii Admin.

Medium consensus1 source

Ballot Type

(opscan) A designation for variant ballots used in the same precinct, such as parts of a multi- page ballot or different ballots for voters of different parties.

Medium consensus1 source

Ballot Voted Backwards

A that has been voted with the ballot inserted backwards into the PUNCHED-CARD BALLOT voting frame.

Medium consensus1 source

Ballot Marking Accessible Voting System

A "device which allows voters, including voters with disabilities, to mark an optical scanning or mark-sensing voting system ballot, privately and independently.

Medium consensus1 source

Balloting Materials

A term from denoting essential items to be provided to VOTERS.

Medium consensus1 source

Ballots By Precinct

(opscan) Determining the precinct to which a ballot belongs by reading preprinted marks on the ballot rather than a HEADER.

Medium consensus1 source

Ballots By Style

(opscan) Determining the precinct to which a ballot belongs by reading a BALLOT HEADER rather than preprinted marks on the ballot.

Medium consensus1 source

Ballots On Demand Voting System

A "system that utilizes ballots printed as needed by election officials at the board of elections for distribution to electors, either in person or by mail." Ohio Rev.

Medium consensus1 source

Basic Input Output System

A program that handles basic input-output operations by interfacing with devices such as the mouse and keyboard and loads the operating system when a computer starts up.

Medium consensus1 source

By ESG Editorial Team · Drawing on NIST, the EAC, VVSG, IEEE, and 30+ authoritative sources on voting system design and certification

Voting systems are the machines, software, and supporting infrastructure through which voters mark, cast, and have their ballots counted. The category includes optical scanners, ballot-marking devices, direct-recording electronic (DRE) systems, hand-marked paper ballots, and the back-end systems that aggregate results from precincts and report them to the public.

Why this category matters for election security is rooted in the trust voters place in the systems that record their intent. A voting system that loses votes, that miscounts, or that allows manipulation without detection undermines the legitimacy of the entire election. Conversely, a system that is well designed, well tested, and well understood by election officials produces results that withstand scrutiny even when contested. The work of building and maintaining that trustworthiness is continuous.

Federal testing and certification programs establish a baseline. The Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG), administered by the Election Assistance Commission, define the technical and security requirements a system must meet to be used in federal elections. State testing goes further in some cases, certifying specific configurations, requiring additional documentation, or limiting the use of particular system features. Once a system is in the field, the work of securing it continues through patch management, configuration control, and pre-election logic and accuracy testing.

The terminology in this category reflects the technical and procedural landscape that voting systems inhabit. The concepts here are not optional. Every term describes a system property that has been the subject of standards, recommendations, and in some cases federal law.

Key Concepts

Voting System

The integrated hardware and software used by voters to cast ballots and by election officials to count them.

Optical Scan

A voting system that reads marked paper ballots using optical sensors and counts the marks electronically.

Ballot Marking Device

A device that allows voters to mark their choices on an electronic interface, then prints a human-readable paper ballot.

Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail

A printed paper record produced simultaneously with an electronic vote, allowing the voter to confirm their choices before casting.

Cast Vote Record

The permanent record of a single vote as captured and stored by a voting system, in electronic and/or paper form.

Direct Recording Electronic

A voting system that records votes directly into electronic memory, with or without a contemporaneous paper record.

Voluntary Voting System Guidelines

The federal technical standards published by the EAC that define security, accuracy, and accessibility requirements for certified voting systems.

How These Terms Relate

These concepts together describe the technical core of how votes are cast and counted. A voting system is more than a single device. It is an integrated chain of hardware, software, and procedures that begins when a voter enters the booth and ends when results are reported. The terminology here covers that full chain. Optical scan, ballot-marking devices, DRE systems, and VVPAT each represent different points on a spectrum of automation and paper reliance. The choice between them is a policy decision shaped by jurisdiction, voter expectations, and the trade-offs between speed, accessibility, auditability, and security.