A reference guide to how American elections are administered — from federal agencies down to individual precincts, including the vendors that supply the technology.
The federal government does not run elections — states do. Federal agencies provide funding, security assistance, voluntary guidelines, voting rights enforcement, and foreign threat intelligence. The key distinction: the EAC handles election administration assistance; CISA handles cybersecurity; the FEC handles campaign finance (not election administration).
Only federal agency dedicated to election administration. Certifies voting equipment, distributes HAVA funds, publishes election data.
Lead federal agency for election security. Provides free cybersecurity assessments and threat intelligence to state/local election offices.
Regulates federal campaign finance only. Does NOT administer elections.
Enforces federal voting rights laws (VRA, NVRA, HAVA, UOCAVA). Deploys election monitors.
Produces foreign election interference threat assessments and shares intelligence with election officials.
States have primary constitutional authority over elections. Each state has a Chief Election Official (CEO) — usually the Secretary of State — who sets statewide rules, certifies results, maintains the voter registration database, and supports county election officials. The structure varies significantly by state.
Chief Election Official in 38 states. Certifies statewide results, oversees election rules, maintains voter registration database.
Used in ~7 states (IL, MD, NC, SC, VA, WI, NY). A bipartisan or nonpartisan board rather than a single official oversees elections.
The administrative professional who implements election policy day-to-day at the state level, typically reporting to the Secretary of State or Board.
National Association of State Election Directors — professional association for state election directors. Facilitates best-practice sharing.
National Association of Secretaries of State — oldest nonpartisan public officials organization (est. 1904). Represents state Chief Election Officials.
This is where most election administration actually happens. Approximately 8,000 county and local jurisdictions are responsible for registering voters, printing ballots, programming voting machines, recruiting poll workers, running early voting, and counting ballots. The office title varies by state.
Common in Midwest and West. Often handles both elections and other county records functions (deeds, licenses).
Florida's term for the county-level election official. Elected partisan officials in each of Florida's 67 counties.
Used in Ohio, New York, NC, and others. A bipartisan board at the county level oversees election administration.
In New England states, elections are administered at the city or town level rather than the county level.
Precincts are the smallest geographic unit of election administration — each with a polling place staffed by poll workers (also called election judges or precinct officials). Most states require bipartisan teams of judges at every polling place. Poll workers are recruited and trained by county election offices.
The principal officer at the polling location. Oversees all operations and certifies results at the close of polls.
Verifies voter identity, assists with ballot issuance. States generally require equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans as judges.
Issues ballots, directs voters, handles paperwork. The front-line volunteer workforce of American elections.
Authorized observer for a party or candidate. May observe but has no authority to interact with or challenge voters directly.
Private companies supply the voting equipment and software used across the country. Three companies — ES&S, Liberty Vote (formerly Dominion), and Hart InterCivic — control roughly 90% of the market. All voting systems used in federal elections must be certified by the EAC against the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG).
Largest vendor. ~42 states. Omaha, NE. Products include DS-series tabulators, ExpressVote BMDs, ExpressPoll e-pollbooks.
Second largest. 27 states in 2024. Denver, CO. Acquired from Dominion Voting Systems in October 2025.
Third largest. Austin, TX. Entire states of Hawaii and Oklahoma. Verity platform is an end-to-end system.
Boston, MA. Specializes in vote-by-mail scanning and independent audit systems.
Leading e-pollbook vendor (Poll Pad). Used for digital voter check-in at precincts across many states.