During the Voting Period

Common Security and Transparency Measures:

• Election officials across the country have “chain of custody” procedures to maintain and document the location and status of ballots and voting equipment, ensuring that all elements of the election system are accounted for. 

• Election officials have processes to verify the count. For example, they may conduct audits to make sure that the votes were counted accurately before being made official. In very close elections, some states may conduct recounts following the laws in each state. After checking for accuracy and resolving any errors, the results are officially declared and certified. 

• Voting systems must produce a paper record for audits and recounts. Federal law requires election officials to retain ballots and other election-related material for 22 months after a federal election in case a recount or investigation is needed. In 2024, 95% of voters will likely vote on a ballot with a voter-verifiable paper trail.

• Nearly every state offers ballot tracking, which limits opportunities for ballots to be diverted while in transit between an election office and a voter. 

• If a mail-in ballot is missing a signature or the signature does not match the one on file, some states give voters the opportunity to “cure” their ballots. When this happens, local election officials contact voters directly and ask them to verify their information and that they did in fact cast the ballot.  

• If a voter submits more than one mail ballot or tries to vote in person after already voting by mail, only one ballot will be counted and the instance of double voting will be investigated. 

• Every state allows for members of the public, or representatives from political parties, to be poll watchers. People of all party affiliations are subject to the same rules and regulations and have equal access to observe the vote count process.