Editing Voting machine (section)

==Location of tallying==

Optical scans can be done either at the polling place or in another location. DRE machines always tally at the precinct.

==={{Anchor|Precinct count voting system}}Precinct-count voting system===
A precinct-count voting system is a voting system that tallies ballots at the polling place. Precinct-count machines typically analyze ballots as they are cast. This approach allows for voters to be notified of voting errors such as [[overvote]]s and can prevent [[spoilt vote]]s. After the voter has a chance to correct any errors, the precinct-count machine tallies that ballot. Vote totals are made public only after the close of polling. DREs and precinct scanners have electronic storage of the vote tallies and may transmit results to a central location over public telecommunication networks.

=== {{Anchor|Central count voting system}}Central-count voting system ===
[[File:ES&S DS 450.jpg|thumb|A medium-speed central-count [[Optical scan voting system|ballot scanner]], the DS450 made by [[Election Systems & Software]] can scan and sort about 4000 ballots per hour.]]
A central count voting system is a voting system that tallies ballots from multiple precincts at a central location.  Central count systems are also commonly used to process [[absentee ballot]]s.

Central counting can be done by hand, and in some jurisdictions, central counting is done using the same type of voting machine deployed at polling places, but since the introduction of the Votomatic punched-card voting system and the Norden Electronic Vote Tallying System in the 1960s, high speed ballot tabulators have been in widespread use, particularly in large metropolitan jurisdictions.  Today, commodity high-speed scanners sometimes serve this purpose, but special-purpose ballot scanners are also available that incorporate sorting mechanisms to separate tallied ballots from those requiring human interpretation.<ref>Douglas W. Jones and Barbara Simons, Broken Ballots, CSLI Publications, 2012; see Section 4.1 Central-Count Machines, pages 64-65, and Figure 21, page 73.</ref>

Voted ballots are typically placed into secure [[ballot box]]es at the polling place.  Stored ballots and/or Precinct Counts are transported or transmitted to a central counting location.  The system produces a printed report of the vote count, and may produce a report stored on electronic media suitable for broadcasting, or release on the Internet.