Election Security Terms Explained
5,897 Terms for Fast, Reliable Verification
A comprehensive reference of election security terminology, combining definitions from 31 authoritative sources including NIST, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the Department of Defense, NATO, and the Director of National Intelligence.
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A curated taste of the archive, each definition traced to its source and checked for cross-institutional consensus.
Latest guides
Editorial deep-dives, explainers, and analysis from the Election Security Glossary team.
Election Security Guides
What Is an Electoral Management Body (EMB)? Roles and Models Explained
Learn what electoral management bodies do, how independent, governmental and mixed EMB models differ, and how election administration varies worldwide.
Martins Ogundare · ESG Editor
7 min read
Election Security Guides
What Is a Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), and How Does It Work?
Learn how voter-verified paper audit trails create a paper record of electronic selections and support election audits, recounts and verification.
Martins Ogundare · ESG Editor
7 min read
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Election Security Guides
Election Fraud, Voter Fraud and Election Crimes: What Do the Terms Mean?
Learn how election fraud, voter fraud and election crimes differ, where they overlap, and why allegations are not the same as proven offenses.
Martins Ogundare · ESG Editor
7 min read
Featured terms
A curated taste of the archive, each definition traced to its source and checked for cross-institutional consensus.
The organization tasked under electoral law with the responsibility for the conduct of elections. The EMB in most countries consists either of an independent co...
Single source
Method of casting ballots by which eligible voters are mailed ballots and information packets by the local jurisdiction. Voters can return their marked ballots...
Single source
Occurs when the number of choices selected by a voter in a contest is less than the maximum number allowed for that contest or when no selection is made for a s...
Single source
Voter-verified PAPER TRAIL. Abbreviated VVPAT. A "contemporaneous paper record of a ballot prin ted for the voter to confirm his or her votes before the voter c...
Single source
A "BALLOT in which the voter has taken final action in the selection of and CONTEST CHOICES irrevocably confirmed his or her intent to vote as selected." VVSG....
Single source
A covert operation designed to deceive; the deception creates the appearance of a particular party, group, or nation being responsible for some activity, disgui...
Single source
A distributed or centralized system that permits the collection, storage, editing, deletion, and reporting of voter records. The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) re...
Single source
A "function that maps a bit string of arbitrary length to a fixed length bit string. Approved hash functions satisfy the following properties: 1. (One-w ay) It...
Single source
[Presidential Directive that] facilitates an integrated, all-of-Nation approach to national preparedness for the threats that pose the greatest risk to the secu...
Single source
An organization whose members or employees engage in online behavior that is meant to disrupt, distract, cause conflict, and influence conversations/behavior fo...
Single source
The misrepresentation or alteration of the true results of an election.
Single source
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One reference desk for election security terminology; searchable, sourced, and cross-referenced.
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