You may or may not be old enough to remember “hanging chads” – the little pieces of paper that didn’t completely detach from a punch-card ballot and were at the center of controversy in the 2000 U.S. presidential election.

Back then, voting machines required voters to punch holes in paper ballots to select their preferred candidates. When the paper ballots were not punched through correctly, they were often considered incomplete and invalid votes.

Today, the majority of U.S. elections are conducted using electronic machines with multiple security measures to safeguard the voting process and election integrity.

The Texas Secretary of State reviews voting systems in the state, which are then tested several times prior to and after each election. Voting machines can’t connect to the internet to protect against hacking.

Related: El Paso Election 2024: Everything you need to know for March 5 primary

Election judges are charged with inspecting machines for possible tampering, ensuring the number of counted ballots match the number of people who showed up to vote and that voting machines are shut down and locked after the polls close.

How can I track my ballot?

Still, it’s easy to track your ballot and ensure your vote was counted. 

Here’s how:

1. County Elections Departments: Counties report voter history to the secretary of state within 30 days of the election. The electronic voter rolls are available at county elections websites and can be found by looking up your voter registration information. In El Paso, you can find that HERE.
2. Texas Secretary of State: You can download a voter report from the state agency’s website that will show who voted. Records on who a person voted for are not public and not included in the report.
3. Voting by mail: If you voted by mail, you can check the status of your mail-in ballot online by visiting the ballot tracker on the Texas Secretary of State site. Military and overseas voters can check their ballot status HERE.