How Voting Works

Ben Adida

A limited series podcast about the mechanics and technology of how we vote, mostly in the United States.

Episodes

  1. May 20

    Episode 8 – Tampering with Voting Equipment in Mesa County, Colorado.

    Tina Peters is serving a jail sentence for tampering with voting equipment when she was clerk in Mesa County, Colorado. The situation has become particularly political, but what actually happened in Mesa County, Colorado? In this episode, we cover the technology and the facts. How voting works in a vote-by-mail state like Colorado, what Tina Peters actually did, and what actual election risks her actions caused. References: Tina PetersNYT and VoteBeat coverageHow Voting Works is a limited series podcast made by VotingWorks, the only non-profit maker of voting machines in the US. Questions and comments are always welcome. Email us at how@voting.works All episodes licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution License. Use as you please, just give us credit by linking back to https://how.voting.works

    26 min

  2. 12/20/2025

    Episode 7 – Fraud allegations in 2020 and 2024, what to make of them?

    Typically, election security experts shy away from engaging with fraud allegations, because the theories are numerous and often lacking in evidence. But it's Christmas time, and you're probably hanging out with family, and surely stories about voting machines and election fraud are bound to come up. You need some cold, hard facts to bring to the table. This is the podcast episode for you. References: https://medium.com/mit-election-lab/the-blue-shift-in-the-2020-election-669a0cffdb2fhttps://playingwithelectiondata.substack.com/p/anomalies-in-rockland-county-ny-votinghttps://risklimitingaudits.org How Voting Works is a limited series podcast made by VotingWorks, the only non-profit maker of voting machines in the US. Questions and comments are always welcome. Email us at how@voting.works All episodes licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution License. Use as you please, just give us credit by linking back to https://how.voting.works

    34 min

  3. 10/09/2025

    Special Episode – Election Office Hours with Professor Michael Alvarez

    A special episode of How Voting Works. Last week, I was interviewed by Professor Michael Alvarez. We first met more than 20 years ago when we both worked with the Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project. Professor Alvarez has a podcast and video series called Election Science Office Hours, and I was his guest. Check out the video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJkiWDh7igk And check out Professor Alvarez's whole video series: https://www.youtube.com/@LCSSPCALTECH How Voting Works is a limited series podcast made by VotingWorks, the only non-profit maker of voting machines in the US. Questions and comments are always welcome. Email us at how@voting.works All episodes licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution License. Use as you please, just give us credit by linking back to https://how.voting.works

    49 min

  4. 05/16/2025

    Episode 5 – Post-election audits to check the machines

    How do we trust our ballot tabulators? Post-election audits, that's how. Risk-Limiting Audits https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk-limiting_auditMore about Risk-Limiting Audits https://risklimitingaudits.org/Professor Halderman's analysis of Antrim County 2020 https://www.usenix.org/conference/usenixsecurity22/presentation/haldermanForensic Audit of Windham, New Hampshire 2020 https://www.doj.nh.gov/sb-43-forensic-audit How Voting Works is a limited series podcast made by VotingWorks, the only non-profit maker of voting machines in the US. Questions and comments are always welcome. Email us at how@voting.works All episodes licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution License. Use as you please, just give us credit by linking back to https://how.voting.works

    11 min

  5. 11/12/2024

    Episode 4 – Ballot Marking Devices and Voters with Disabilities

    In most democracies other than the United States, voters with disabilities are often required to forgo ballot secrecy in exchange for their right to vote. In the United States, that's considered unacceptable, and in fact it is illegal. This is why we have ballot-marking devices. Sources Can Voters Detect Malicious Manipulation of Ballot Marking Devices?Voter Verification of BMD Ballots Is a Two-Part Question: Can They? Mostly, They Can. Do They? Mostly, They Don'tCan Voters Detect Errors on Their Printed Ballots? AbsolutelyDo Ballot Barcodes Threaten Election Security?How Voting Works is a limited series podcast made by VotingWorks, the only non-profit maker of voting machines in the US. Questions and comments are always welcome. Email us at how@voting.works All episodes licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution License. Use as you please, just give us credit by linking back to https://how.voting.works

    20 min

  6. 10/21/2024

    Episode 3 – Electronic Voting Machines and the Paper Ballot

    For a few years in the early 2000s, the US deployed fully electronic voting machines, also known as DREs, fairly broadly. Today, DREs are mostly gone, replaced by voter-verifiable paper ballots. Sources: https://www.wired.com/2004/11/computer-loses-4500-votes/ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26/magazine/election-security-crisis-midterms.html https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/24/us/computer-voting-is-open-to-easy-fraud-experts-say.html https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/01/us/high-tech-voting-system-is-banned-in-california.htmlhttps://verifiedvoting.org How Voting Works is a limited series podcast made by VotingWorks, the only non-profit maker of voting machines in the US. Questions and comments are always welcome. Email us at how@voting.works All episodes licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution License. Use as you please, just give us credit by linking back to https://how.voting.works

    19 min

  7. 10/09/2024

    Episode 2 – Voting Machines

    Let's talk about why we need voting machines in the US, and the specific types of voting machines we use and how they work. The Reality of Full Hand Counts: A Guide for Election Officials, by the Elections GroupHarris County voters wade through longest ballot in the state on first day of early voting, October 2022A Brief Illustrated History of Voting, by Professor Douglas W. JonesTHE 2000 ELECTIONS: THE PALM BEACH BALLOT; Florida Democrats Say Ballot's Design Hurt Gore, New York Times, November 2020The Center for Civic Design How Voting Works is a limited series podcast made by VotingWorks, the only non-profit maker of voting machines in the US. Questions and comments are always welcome. Email us at how@voting.works All episodes licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution License. Use as you please, just give us credit by linking back to https://how.voting.works

    20 min

  8. 09/25/2024

    Episode 1 – The Secret Ballot

    Welcome to How Voting Works, a limited series podcast about the mechanics of how we vote in the United States, and in particular about the technology we use to cast our votes. This is Episode 1. The Secret Ballot is the most interesting, profound, and complicated aspect of modern elections. It's also the one requirement that makes everything about elections difficult. References: "One Vote Counts for None", Nov 14th, 2006. https://www.kait8.com/story/5675029/one-vote-counts-for-none/"E-voting 2006: A touch screen, a missing vote, a mystery in Arkansas", Nov 14th, 2006. https://www.computerworld.com/article/1647712/e-voting-2006-a-touch-screen-a-missing-vote-a-mystery-in-arkansas.htmlHow Voting Works is a limited series podcast made by VotingWorks, the only non-profit maker of voting machines in the US. Questions and comments are always welcome. Email us at how@voting.works All episodes licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution License. Use as you please, just give us credit by linking back to https://how.voting.works

    12 min
  • 8 Episodes

5
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

A limited series podcast about the mechanics and technology of how we vote, mostly in the United States.

Information

  • Creator
    Ben Adida
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    8
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 VotingWorks
  • Show Website
    How Voting Works