6.4 Chapter Summary

• Casting a vote involves choosing a voting location, verifying identity, marking the ballot, and submitting it in a polling station designed for efficiency, accessibility, security, privacy, and transparency.
• Wait times vary by location and are influenced by ballot complexity and polling station availability; longer waits can reduce future turnout.
• Voting technology has evolved from mechanical systems to modern tools like Ballot Marking Devices (BMDs) and Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) systems.
• BMDs allow voters to use a digital interface to mark selections and print a paper ballot, while DRE systems electronically record votes and often include a paper audit trail.
• Hand-marked paper ballots remain the most common voting method because they are tangible, reliable, and easy to audit.
• Convenience voting options such as advance voting, absentee voting, and vote-by-mail aim to reduce barriers and make voting more accessible.
• Provisional ballots allow individuals with uncertain eligibility to vote conditionally, with their vote counted after verification.
• Expanding convenience voting is viewed as a strategy to increase voter turnout and reduce inequality by making voting easier for all, especially marginalized groups.

OpenAI. (2025, June 12th). ChatGPT. [Large language model]. https://www.chatgpt.com Prompt: Can you please summarize the passage into 8 key points with no additional bullets. Edited & Reviewed by author.

• Absent or Absentee Voting: Voting by individuals who are not present at their regular polling place on election day, typically by mail or other remote methods.
• Accessibility: The degree to which a voting location accommodates all voters, including those with disabilities or mobility issues.
• Advance Voting: A form of convenience voting where voters can cast their ballots at designated times before election day.
• Ballot Marking Device (BMD): An electronic device that allows voters to make their selections on a digital interface, which then prints a paper record of the vote. The vote is not stored on the device.
• Convenience voting: Voting methods that provide flexibility outside of traditional in-person, election-day voting. This includes early voting, absentee voting, and voting by mail.
• Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) systems: Voting machines that use a touchscreen or similar interface to directly record votes into electronic memory. These systems may also produce a paper audit trail for verification.
• Efficiency: In the voting context, the smooth and timely movement of voters through the polling station reduces wait times and improves the experience.
• Provisional ballots: Ballots cast by voters whose eligibility is uncertain at the time of voting. These ballots are held aside and only counted once eligibility is verified.
• Transparency: Making the voting process observable and understandable to increase public trust, such as allowing voters to see their ballot being submitted.
• Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT): A physical printout produced by an electronic voting machine that allows the voter to verify their selections before the vote is stored electronically