How Voting Machines Work
Taking apart the various voting machines used in the U.S.
How Voting Machines Work
- TOUCH SCREEN 1. A smart card or security code provided by poll workers is inserted, which allows a voter to complete one ballot. 2. The voter presses on-screen buttons to select candidates. A memory card stores the choices, and the machine then marks the smart card as used and ejects it. Pressing the touch screen (inset) pushes two thin conductive layers together, causing a voltage spike at the contact point, which software registers as a vote. 3. After polls close, a supervisor instructs the machine to print the vote totals on a paper tape, then removes the memory card. Both are brought to precinct headquarters, where they are tallied with cards and tapes from other machines. Troy Doolittle/TopDog Illustration
- OPTICAL SCANNER 1 A voter fills in targets, usually ovals, on a paper ballot, then feeds the page into a scanner. 2. A row of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) illuminates the paper as it scrolls by. An array of sensors picks up the reflections from timing marks on the ballot's edge indicating the office being elected and from the "dark spots" indicating the voter's choices. A memory card stores the result. 3. The paper ballot falls into a sealed bin for recount, if needed. 4. At the end of the day, a supervisor instructs the machine to print the vote totals on a paper tape and removes the memory card. Both are brought to precinct headquarters to be tallied with others. Troy Doolittle/TopDog Illustration
- LEVER MACHINE A voter closes a curtain, then turns a lever for each desired candidate. Pulling the arm that reopens the curtain causes counter wheels behind each turned lever to advance a notch (like an odometer) and resets the levers. When polls close, supervisors read the counters for totals. AP PHOTO
