Voting — Election Security Glossary

Voting encompasses the methods and mechanisms through which citizens exercise their fundamental right to participate in elections. It spans the diverse ways Americans can vote — early in person, by mail, provisionally, from overseas — and the tools used to mark and record their choices. The terminology of voting reflects both legal structures, especially the Help America Vote Act of 2002, and the technical systems that translate voter intent into recorded votes. Why this category matters for election security begins with a core principle: the security of an election depends on the ability to verify that votes are cast as intended and counted as cast. This requires three critical capabilities. First, accessibility: voting systems must be usable by citizens with disabilities, including those with visual and mobility impairments, without compromising security — a mandate established by the Americans with Disabilities Act and HAVA. Second, voter verification: when ballots are marked electronically, voters must have the ability to review and confirm a voter-verifiable paper audit trail before their vote is recorded, ensuring they can detect and correct errors. Third, uniformity and transparency: election officials, observers, and voters themselves must understand and be able to verify the procedures through which votes are cast and recorded. The terminology in this category reflects the methods and safeguards that operationalize these principles. Absentee and mail voting require distinct security procedures compared to in-person voting, including signature verification and ballot tracking. Provisional ballots serve as a safeguard when voter eligibility is questioned. Accessibility accommodations must be integrated into every method of voting. UOCAVA provisions extend these protections to military members and overseas citizens, who must be able to register, request, receive, and return ballots from remote locations — often under compressed timelines. The security challenges of remote voting are distinct from those of in-person voting, and the terminology that governs UOCAVA participation reflects those differences.