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The Act of Voting

After you have signed in with the poll workers, they’ll point out the voting devices. Sometimes they will tell you briefly how the voting devices work — particularly useful if new types are being used for the first time.

If you have trouble figuring out how to use the device, ask for help at any time during the voting process. Just step outside your voting booth and signal to a poll worker (don’t vacate the booth completely in mid-vote). They’re allowed to come to your voting booth and show you how to proceed. Some states even let you bring a friend right up to the voting device with you to help you out.

Don’t fret if you make a mistake on your ballot. A poll worker can give you a new ballot or take you to a new device if your voting machine breaks down.

Different Types of Voting Devices

Because voting in America is run by states, cities and counties, there are lots of different types of voting devices in use — many of them new and still getting the kinks worked out. Don’t be frightened off by the new equipment. Remember that every voter will be learning how to use it. Poll workers will understand that voters need extra help. Following are the five basic types of voting devices — one of which is probably used in your area.

Optical Scanning Machines

With this system, the poll workers give you a card or sheets of paper — your ballot — which you take over to a private table or booth. The ballot has the names of the various candidates and ballot measures printed on it. With a pen or pencil, you need to fill in a little box or circle, or the space between two arrows. In some places, you can feed your ballot into a machine that reads it right in front of you, so you can make sure you voted as you meant to.

When you’re finished filling out your entire ballot, you will probably be told to bring it over to a ballot box, where poll workers will show you how to put the cards in the box. Or, you might be told to feed the completed cards into a computer device. When Election Day is over, the computer counts how many votes were cast for each candidate or issue.

Direct Recording Electronic Machines (DREs)

This is the newest kind of system in the U.S. — similar to your bank’s ATM machine. All the information about who and what you are voting for is on an electronic screen. There are several variations of DREs and many cities, counties and states are trying
them out.

Some of these devices show all the candidates and ballot choices on one big screen. You push a button next to the name of the candidate you want to vote for. On other DREs, the screen is set up to show “pages.” On one screen/page you might vote for U.S. Senator. Then you’d move to the next page to vote for U.S. Representative.

Instead of a button to push, some of these systems have “touch screens.” You touch the screen next to the name of the person you want to vote for. Other systems have a keypad or a computer keyboard, where you type in your choice. DREs store votes on a computer device like a disk or a cartridge. At the end of the day, results from the disk or cartridge can be printed and read at the polling place or transferred to a central location.

DREs are currently the subject of much controversy because studies show the machines can lose data or be tampered with. Many citizens are demanding that these systems allow voters to get a print out of their completed ballot, to ensure a paper trail if electronic votes are lost.

Punch cards

With a punch-card system, a poll worker gives you a card or booklet of cards — each about 8 x 3 inches, with small rectangles that can be punched out. You take your cards to a small private table, where a booklet is mounted on a frame. The frame will have a place for you to slide your first card in.

The table will also have a small device (often a metal stick) for punching holes next to your chosen candidates. Make sure you study the cards or booklet carefully, so that you punch the right hole — the one lined up with your candidate’s name. Then, give it a firm punch, so you completely push out the little cardboard rectangle, known as a chad. Beware of “hanging chads.”

When you’re done, take all your cards (you may receive an envelope to put them in) to the ballot box and drop them inside. At the end of the day, the poll workers put all the cards into a sorter, which counts how many holes have been punched out for each candidate.

Mechanical Lever Machine

Here, you step into a voting booth and pull a big lever to close the curtain. You’ll see a printed display with the names of all the people running for office and all the ballot measures. Next to each name will be a small mechanical lever about an inch long. To vote for your choice, turn the lever all the way. Do that again and again until you’ve cast all your votes. Then, pull the big lever to open the curtain— which signals the machine to record your ballot.

At the end of the day, the poll workers go to each machine and count the votes for each candidate and issue.

Paper Ballots

Paper ballots are one of the oldest ways of voting and are still used in some polling places, mostly in rural areas. Voters get a paper ballot and take it to a voting booth. Using a pen or pencil, you mark a box next to your candidate and issue choices, then drop the marked ballot into a sealed ballot box. At the end of the day, poll workers read the ballots and count the votes.

If You Make a Mistake

When you’re finished voting, you should always check your ballot to make sure you actually voted as you intended to. Of course, there’s always the chance that you might change your mind while you’re voting or make a mistake marking your ballot. What if you accidentally mark the wrong person for President?

If your polling place uses cards or paper to record votes, ask a poll worker to give you a new ballot. Do-overs can be accomplished with systems that use punch cards, optical scans and paper ballots.

If you are using a lever voting booth or a computerized system of direct electronic recording, there is no paper. So if you make a mistake while you’re voting, you can just correct it yourself while you are in the booth. In a lever system, you can make corrections as long as you haven’t pulled the big lever that opens the voting booth curtain. In a DRE system, you can make corrections as long as you haven’t touched the final screen to say you’ve finished voting

Here are some common mistakes that voters make:

  • Voting for more than one person for a single office. If you do it, the vote won’t count.

  • Voting for one person when you think you are voting for another. This can happen if the voting device has a booklet that opens to let you see two pages at once. The names may line up in a confusing way, so be very careful, take your time and follow the arrows.

  • Not following instructions. If the instructions say to vote by filling in a small circle with a pencil, your vote may not get counted if you circle the person’s name instead.

  • Accidentally skipping some of the choices. This can occur if you move through the ballot too quickly, missing some candidates or issues you really want to vote on. Always double check your ballot before you turn it in.

If you have questions, think your voting device isn’t working properly or think you may have made a mistake on your ballot, ask a poll worker to help. Everyone at the polling place has the same goal: making sure you’re able to exercise one of the greatest privileges we have as Americans — the cherished right to vote.

 

 

 


 

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