US uses ballot papers, not EVMs. How does it count millions of votes so fast?
Voting in the November 3 US midterm elections has ended, and results for millions of votes cast on paper ballots started emerging within hours of the end of polling. Unlike India, the US does not use Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to directly record most votes. But it manages to count millions of ballots quickly. In the recent Bihar Legislative Council (MLC) elections, conducted using ballot papers, saw counting stretch over several days in some constituencies. In a seat, counting just 69,141 votes took 57 hours. This raises the question about how America manages to count more than 100 million paper ballots so quickly.
The US voted on Tuesday (November 3) to elect representatives to all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 Senate seats and governors in 36 states. More than 57 million Americans had already voted before polling day, according to the University of Florida Election Lab. The Associated Press (AP) estimated that well over 100 million ballots have been cast in the elections.
With polling now over, results have been pouring in from thousands of counting locations across the US. The counting is being conducted by local election authorities in more than 10,000 centres, with machines doing much of the work. Unlike India's manual counting of paper ballots in MLC elections, American officials use electronic scanners to read ballot papers and count votes automatically.
Here's all about how the US counts millions of paper ballots within hours.
The key difference is that Americans generally vote on paper, but machines count those votes. Unlike India, where voters press a button on an EVM during Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, Americans usually mark their preferred candidates on paper ballots. Voters fill in a circle or box next to the candidate's name.
Then, the ballot is passed through a scanning machine, either at the polling station itself or at a separate counting centre.
The scanner reads the markings and automatically adds the vote to the candidate's total. Bigger counting centres have high-speed machines capable of processing thousands of ballot papers every hour.
According to a 2024 election survey released by the US Election Assistance Commission, nearly all American election jurisdictions use voting equipment that involves paper ballots or produces a paper record.
The original ballots are preserved, so officials can examine them again if there is a recount, audit or dispute.MILLIONS OF BALLOTS ARE PREPARED BEFORE ELECTION DAY
Another major reason for America's relatively quick results is that much of the work begins before polling day. Americans can vote in advance, either by visiting designated polling stations or sending their ballots through the post, depending on state laws.
According to a November 2 Reuters report, more than 57 million Americans had already cast their votes before the November 3 midterm elections.
The US' National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) says 43 states and the US Virgin Islands allow election officials to begin preparing postal ballots before Election Day.
This involves checking voters' details, verifying signatures, opening envelopes and getting ballot papers ready for scanning. Some states also allow ballots to be scanned before polling day. However, the results cannot be made public before the legally permitted time. This reduces the amount of work remaining when polling ends.THOUSANDS OF CENTRES COUNT VOTES SIMULTANEOUSLY
America does not have a single central counting operation for the entire country. According to the Associated Press, elections are conducted across more than 10,000 local areas, including counties, cities and towns.
Thousands of counting teams work simultaneously, using machines to process ballots. Once a batch of votes is counted, the figures are added to the local totals. These are then reported to the authorities responsible for compiling election results.
The Associated Press, which has reported US election results since 1848, gathers these figures through election officials, reporters, government websites and electronic updates. According to the news agency's explanation of its counting process, more than 4,000 reporters collect voting figures from election offices across America.
This system allows millions of votes to be counted and reported within hours, even though the entire counting process may take much longer.HOW ARE WINNERS DECLARED BEFORE COUNTING ENDS?
Another important difference is that American news organisations can declare winners even before every ballot has been counted. The Associated Press and other news outlets study the votes already counted, the number of ballots remaining and the areas where counting is still underway.
For example, if a candidate leads by 1,00,000 votes and only 20,000 ballots remain, the trailing candidate cannot win even if all the remaining votes go to them. News organisations can therefore declare the winner without waiting for every ballot.
However, these are not official results.
The US Election Assistance Commission says election-night results are preliminary. Officials must complete the counting, check the figures and formally approve the results.
However, this process can take days or even weeks, particularly in closely contested races.
So, in simple terms, Americans vote on paper, but machines do most of the counting. Also, millions of ballots are also prepared in advance, and thousands of counting centres work at the same time. This helps election results emerge within hours, even though every vote may not have been counted. The winners announced on election night are often projected winners, while the official results can take days or even weeks.- Ends
Sushim Mukul is aΒ keen observer, with interest in polity, geopolitics, culture and heritage.
