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

Retabulation

The "process of running ballots back through the tabulation system for an additional time or times for the express purpose of reconciling the count." Wyo.

Medium consensus1 source

Retally

The process of adding up once again the votes obtained from individual voting machines." Ariz.

Medium consensus1 source

Retard Pad

(opscan) A pad situated between the input hopper and the ballot path on an optical scanner to prevent more than one at a time from passing through the machine.

Medium consensus1 source

Retention

In elections for federal office, election must preserve for 22 months "all ADMINISTRATORS records and paper that came into [their] possession relating to an application,…

Medium consensus1 source

Retention Election

An election to determine whether various incumbents, typically judges, should be retained in office.

Medium consensus1 source

Retrievable Ballot

A voter's that can be "linked to that voter for possible retrieval if it ABSENTEE BALLOT becomes necessary to take action as to that cast ballot." 8 N.C.

Medium consensus1 source

Retrieval Code

A number used in the Hart InterCivic eSlate system to refer to and retrieve PROVISIONAL BALLOTS.

Medium consensus1 source

Return Judge

In Missouri, a who returns election materials to the county office following an election.

Medium consensus1 source

Return Sheet

A document on which vote totals from a are recorded.

Medium consensus1 source

Returning Officer

The official responsible for transmitting to the appropriate state body.

Medium consensus1 source

Rev

REMOTE ELECTRONIC VOTING.

Medium consensus1 source

Review Screen

A visualization for the voter of her entire selection of ballot choices, "for the voter to review before the vote is actually cast." Texas Elec.

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.