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

Ccos

central count optical scanner.

High consensus2 sources

Central Count Optical Scan

Optical scan system that utilizes one or more high-speed scanners at a central location to tabulate ballots.

High consensus2 sources

Digital Optical Scan System

Optical scan system that converts voter choices on a paper ballot to digital values.

High consensus2 sources

Direct Record Electronic Voting System (dre)

A DRE system presents a ballot image to a voter, collects the voter's choices, and records those choices directly onto electronic media.

High consensus2 sources

Direct Recording Electronic

A voting machine, that electronically stores votes, and on which voters use interfaces (pushbutton, touchscreen, or dial) to record their votes.

High consensus2 sources

Dre Display

That component of a DRE which exhibits the BALLOT to the voter.

High consensus2 sources

Escrow

The act of placing a copy of a vendor's voting system source code in the hands of an independent agent, who is obligated to release the source code to a jurisdiction upon the…

Medium consensus2 sources

High Speed Central Count Tabulation System

An optical scanner capable of scanning a high number of ballots (hundreds) per minute.

High consensus2 sources

Machine Unreadable Mark

Mark in a contest selection position of a paper ballot that cannot be detected as readable or marginal by a scanner and requires human adjudication.

High consensus2 sources

Mechanical Lever Voting Machine

Machine that directly records a voter's choices via mechanical lever -actuated controls into a counting mechanism that tallies the votes without using a physical ballot.

High consensus2 sources

Misfeed Rate

(opscan) The "ratio of the misfeed total to the total volume." VVSG.

Medium consensus2 sources

Optical Scan Ballots

These are paper ballots, marked by voters, either manually with (typically) pens or through the use of a ballot marking device, which can be counted by optical scanners or by hand.

Low consensus2 sources

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.