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Election Integrity terms
Voter ID, the SAVE America Act, voter rolls, mail ballots and claims of election fraud.
Absentee ballot A ballot cast by mail or other means by a voter who will not be at the polling place on Election Day. Automatic voter registration A system in which eligible citizens are registered when they interact with a state agency, such as the DMV, unless they decline. Ballot harvesting The collection and delivery of completed absentee or mail ballots by someone other than the voter, regulated differently in each state. Election certification The formal, legally required confirmation by officials that vote totals are accurate and final. Electoral Count Act The federal law governing how Congress counts electoral votes, revised in 2022 after the January 6 disputes. Mail-in voting Voting in which ballots are sent to voters' homes and returned by mail or drop box, instead of cast at a polling place. Noncitizen voting Voting by people who are not U.S. citizens, which is illegal in federal elections but allowed in some local elections. Poll watcher A person designated by a party, candidate or group to observe election procedures at polling places and counting sites. Preclearance A former Voting Rights Act requirement that certain jurisdictions get federal approval before changing election laws. Provisional ballot A ballot cast when a voter's eligibility is in question, counted only after officials verify it. Recount A second count of ballots in a close contest, triggered automatically or on request, to confirm the result. Risk-limiting audit A post-election audit that checks a statistical sample of paper ballots to confirm, with high confidence, that the reported winner is correct. Same-day voter registration A system letting eligible people register and vote on the same day, including on Election Day in some states. Signature verification The check in which election officials compare the signature on a mail ballot envelope with the one on file for that voter. Voter ID A requirement that voters show identification, such as a driver's license or other documents, to cast a ballot. Voter roll maintenance The process of updating voter registration lists by removing people who have died, moved or become ineligible. Voting Rights Act The 1965 federal law that prohibits racial discrimination in voting and has been amended several times.