What happens to my ballot after voting? Follow its journey
In-person, hand-marked ballots are either run through a scanner at a polling place, collected to be scanned at a central location, or manually counted.
A small percentage of voters cast their votes using a direct-recording electronic voting machine, which electronically stores the voters' selections.
After ballots are returned by mail or dropped off at a designated location, they must first be processed by an election worker before the vote can be counted.
The procedure varies by state, but generally involves confirming the identity and authenticity of the voter, verifying the voter’s information to confirm they are registered and eligible to vote, and confirming the signature on the ballot matches a signature on file, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. This information is written or printed on an outer envelope.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/10/03/ballot-after-voting-journey/75493920007/