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

Test Report For Eac Certification

A "report of results of independent testing of a voting system indicating the data testing was completed, the specific system version tested, and the scope of tests conducted."…

Medium consensus1 source

Testing Board

A body that conducts a public test of election equipment.

Medium consensus1 source

Text To Speech

A technology that converts textual material in electronic form to spoken audio output, suitable for use by a visually impaired voter.

Medium consensus1 source

Threshold Cryptography

A form of cryptography useful in secure verifiable voting schemes to prevent malfeasance by requiring multiple parties in order to decrypt a message so that decryption cannot be…

Medium consensus1 source

Time

Most states limit the time an individual voter may take to cast a vote.

Medium consensus1 source

Time Sensitive Code

Software whose behavior changes based on reading a real-time clock.

Medium consensus1 source

Timestamp

A string indicative of clock or elapsed time, generally consisting of day, month, year and time of day.

Medium consensus1 source

Timing

A issue identified as a in the VVSG.

Medium consensus1 source

Timing Mark

A printed mark, general at the edge of an optical scan ballot to indicate the vertical location of POSITIONS.

Medium consensus1 source

Timing Track

A column of rectangular marks on an optical scan ballot used to indicate the horizontal position of OVALS.

Medium consensus1 source

Tint

A "color and design prescribed by the Secretary of State which is printed on card stock for ballots to be used in California elections.

Medium consensus1 source

Title

The title of a MEASURE. A "brief statement that fairly and accurately represents the true intent and meaning of the proposed text of the initiative." Col.

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.