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Actual Vote in District of Columbia

Poll tapes posted outside, in public

Information current as of October 2026

This page explains how to use the Actual Vote app in District of Columbia for the next election. New to Actual Vote? Start here to learn what it is and why it matters.

The District of Columbia posts a summary count outside each vote center. D.C. law requires that “upon the conclusion of voting at any Vote Center, the Board shall post a summary count of votes cast,” “in a conspicuous place that can be seen from the outside of the Vote Center immediately upon completion of voting” (D.C. Code § 1-1001.09(j-1)). It’s mandatory, at the 8 p.m. close, and visible from public space — so you can video it with the Actual Vote app, no credential needed. One caveat: ranked-choice voting starts with the June 2026 primary, so in races with three or more candidates the posted summary shows first-choice totals, with the full rounds tabulated centrally afterward.

Your participation is powerful: you join a nationwide team whose recordings get compared, tape-by-tape, against the officially reported results — an independent check on vote reporting, which is vulnerable to error and fraud. We haven’t published an Actual Vote analysis from District of Columbia yet, but see what a team achieved in the 2024 North Carolina primary. The process is legal and next-to-impossible to abuse for partisan gain: everything on a poll tape is already public.

Poll closing time in District of Columbia: 8 p.m. Anyone still in line at closing time is entitled to vote, so the closing procedure — and the tape — can run later.

Get the app How Actual Vote works See an example analysis

This information was compiled using AI-assisted internet research along with some calls to election offices and word-of-mouth tips. It reflects America Counts’s best knowledge of how to access poll tapes in District of Columbia as of October 2026, but it cannot be guaranteed 100% accurate. The best way to be sure about accessing poll tapes in your area is to call your local elections office and ask — see below for ready-to-use scripts.

If your experience or knowledge of poll-tape procedure in District of Columbia is different from what we show here, please contact us and let us know — we update these pages as we learn more.

Your ways to participate in District of Columbia

See how the six ways to help compare →

  1. 1

    Record posted poll tapes at polling places after closing time

    District of Columbia posts results tapes where the public can see and record them. You can visit several polling places after the close and record each with the Actual Vote app.

    Phone script — confirm poll-tape posting with your county
    Hi, my name is [name]. I’m a user of Actual Vote, an app from America Counts, a non-partisan election transparency organization — volunteers record the poll tapes posted on election night and compare them to the official results as an independent double-check. I want to plan correctly for [county], so could I ask one quick question?

    On election night, after the polls close, are the certified precinct results tapes posted where the public can see and record them? Where exactly are they posted, and is there anything I should know about video-recording the posted tape?

    If they’re unsure it’s posted: in District of Columbia it’s the law — D.C. Code § 1-1001.09(j-1) requires the precinct results to be posted for public view. You can mention that and ask them to confirm. If what they say differs from this page, tell us and we’ll verify and fix it.

    See a detailed example of how to make a plan to visit polling places on election night based in Broward County, Florida.

  2. 2

    Be there at the close or observe the countNot needed here

    The tape is posted where the public can see it, so you can record it without being inside at the close (use case 1).

  3. 3

    Record early-voting tapes

    Each D.C. vote center has its own tabulator. Anyone may petition the Board of Elections for an election-observer badge at least two weeks ahead; observers may watch the equipment being closed, and cameras are allowed unless the site coordinator finds them disruptive (3 DCMR 706). We don’t know whether early-voting tabulators are closed at the end of early voting or on election night. In 2024 about 22% of ballots were cast early in person (EAC election survey). Call your county elections office ahead of time and ask where and when the early-voting tapes will be printed, and whether you may observe and video-record them. If they don’t have a plan to show them, you can politely ask them to display the tapes.

    See a detailed example of recording early-voting tapes, based on Cobb County, Georgia.

  4. 4

    Become a poll worker or observer

    Working the polls or serving as an appointed observer puts you right at the source — the earliest point in the chain of custody, and the clearest view of the count and the tape.

    See more details about Actual Vote for poll workers or observers.

    Sign up to be a poll worker →

  5. 5

    Visit or book an appointment at your county elections office

    Election offices can often provide many precincts’ tapes at once — a great way to cover a whole county on your own schedule.

    Email/phone script — book an appointment at your District of Columbia county elections office
    To: [your county] County elections office
    Re: Appointment to view and record precinct results tapes

    Hello, and thank you for your work. My name is [name]. My friends and I use Actual Vote, an app from America Counts, a non-partisan election transparency organization — we video-record poll tapes and compare them to the official results as an independent double-check.

    We’d like to request an appointment to view and video-record the certified precinct results tapes (summary statements) from the [date] election — Election Day, absentee/by-mail, and early voting — for [all precincts / the following precincts: ____]. [Preferred date and window] would work, but we’re flexible and happy to follow any rules your office sets.

    Everything on these tapes is public records under the D.C. Freedom of Information Act (D.C. Code § 2-532), and already public, so all we’d need is the tapes and a place to work. Thank you for considering it. — [name], [contact]

    Offices are busiest right before certification — offering a flexible window (and to start with a few precincts) makes a yes easier. See the full worked example for more.

    See a detailed example of how to do this.

  6. 6

    File a public-records request for poll-tape images

    Poll tapes are public records under the D.C. Freedom of Information Act. You can request digital copies by precinct and voting method — available in every state, though it captures the tapes later in the chain of custody.

    Public-records request email — D.C. Vote Center results
    To: D.C. Board of Elections
    Re: Public records request — [election, e.g. November 5, 2024 General Election] Vote Center results, District of Columbia

    Dear D.C. Board of Elections,

    Under the D.C. Freedom of Information Act, D.C. Code § 2-532, I'm requesting copies of public election data — specifically the summary count of votes cast that the Board posts outside each Vote Center immediately upon the conclusion of voting, meeting the following criteria:

    • From D.C.'s [election, e.g. November 5, 2024 General Election]
    • From all Vote Centers in the District
    • Covering both Election Day and Early Voting, since D.C. tabulates and posts a combined summary at each Vote Center
    • In any race decided by ranked-choice voting, I understand the posted summary shows first-choice totals only, with the full ranked-choice rounds tabulated centrally — if a record of the later-round tabulation is also a public record, I'd welcome a copy of that too
    • The summaries showing candidate-by-candidate vote totals — I don't need the zero or configuration tapes, though including them is fine
    • If for any Vote Center no ballots were cast, simply omit it

    Digital scans (emailed or via a download link, in any common format such as .pdf or .jpg) would be ideal; physical copies for pickup or mail are also fine. These are public records, and the totals they show are already in the official published results. They'll be used for legitimate, non-partisan vote-reporting auditing with Actual Vote, an app from America Counts, a non-partisan election transparency organization — you can see exactly how it works, and why it's non-partisan, at Start Here.

    If you must redact anything beyond Vote Center name, voting method, and results totals, please go ahead. If you deny any part of this request, please cite the specific exemption and let me know the appeal options under the law. Please also tell me of any fee in advance — I request a fee waiver, as this analysis is in the public interest, contributes to election transparency, and is not for any commercial purpose.

    Because our analysis is most useful before results are certified, I'd be grateful for the data within about a week if possible; if you expect a delay, just let me know when to expect it.

    Thank you for considering this request. — [name], [email/phone]

    See a detailed example of how to do this.

Example Actual Vote Recordings

We don’t have any recordings from District of Columbia yet — you could be the first! Here are some example poll tape videos by Actual Vote users in other states. America Counts compares the vote totals on each poll tape video to the official results to double-check the accuracy of the vote reporting. See this report from North Carolina in 2022 for an example.

Recordings live in the public Actual Vote Video Archive.

How we know this — and how you can check it

This reflects America Counts’s primary-source review of District of Columbia’s election statutes and Secretary of State guidance, most recently updated in October 2026; the summary at the top of this page and the early-voting card link the provisions it relies on. Procedures can still vary locally, so the surest way to confirm what applies at your polling place or elections office is to call them directly. Found something different? Tell us and we’ll verify it and fix the page.

Find your county's election website

County sites carry polling locations and local contact information. Search "[your county], District of Columbia elections" if a link 404s.

Heads up: our list for District of Columbia is incomplete — we’re rebuilding it from an authoritative source. For now, search "[your county], District of Columbia elections" to find your local office.

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Join the nationwide team independently double-checking how votes are reported — starting in District of Columbia.

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