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

Local Election

1. An election in a political subdivision that is smaller than a state.

Medium consensus1 source

Local Election Official

The "the municipal clerk or principal officer charged with duties relating to elections." Minn.

Medium consensus1 source

Local Office

"'Local office' means any elective office other than a state or national office." Wisc.

Medium consensus1 source

Local Primary

A for "nominations of candidates entitling the nominated candidates to PRIMARY ELECTION have their names printed on the official ballots at municipal elections in incorporated…

Medium consensus1 source

Local Special Election

A "SPECIAL called by the governing body of a local political subdivision in which ELECTION all registered voters of the local political subdivision may vote." Utah Code…

Medium consensus1 source

Local Area Network

Abbreviated LAN.

Medium consensus1 source

Locked

See SEALED.

Medium consensus1 source

Log

A record of events that occur in connection with an election, used for auditing purposes or to reconstruct happenings during the election.

Medium consensus1 source

Logic And Accuracy Test

A test to determine whether a voting device is operating properly and whether its ballot is set up correctly.

Medium consensus1 source

Long Term Absentee Voter

In Oregon, a resident who is absent from their place of residence.

Medium consensus1 source

Loophole Primary

A in which political convention delegates are selected rather than an PRIMARY ELECTION individual candidate, a "preference" for whom is determined in a separate election.

Medium consensus1 source

Lost Ballot

A that was delivered to a polling place but cannot be accounted for after the election.

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.