- Each state in the United States is in charge of administering its own elections.

And in most jurisdictions, voting machines are an integral part of the electoral system, recording votes in an accurate, secure way.

But how exactly do they work?

(energetic music) Through the 20th century, there was much more variance in the types of equipment used.

Mechanical lever voting machines and punch card systems were common, but these became bulky, outdated systems to manage.

And after the contentious 2000 election, a law was passed to modernize voting systems around the country.

Today, the majority of jurisdictions use one of two systems to administer elections: direct recording electronic voting machines, DREs, or optical scan paper ballot systems.

DREs allow voters to cast their ballot directly on a machine, often using a touchscreen.

The DRE then records the individual vote and stores the vote count within the computer's memory.

Some, but not all, come with a paper record.

This allows voters to review their vote before they cast it and can also help with potential vote audits.

Optical scan systems operate much like many multiple choice tests you take in school.

Voters mark their choices on a paper ballot.

Those ballots are then scanned on site at the polling location or collected and scanned at a central location.

In some of the country's smaller jurisdictions, hand-counted paper ballots are still the way business is handled.

But as you can imagine, this would be next to impossible to manage in more populated districts.

While each state sets its own voting standards, many of those standards are designed to address security concerns about vote tampering, accessibility issues, and to ensure everyone receives their full right to a private vote.

That right remains a cornerstone of American democracy.

Which voting system would you trust with your ballot?