1 — Overview

This is the technical user’s manual for Actual Vote, the system created by America Counts for verifying that the votes counted at polling places match the votes reported to the public.

It is, as far as we know, the first manual of its kind. The manual rewards both linear reading and targeted lookup. Readers looking for a quick overview should start with Start Here; readers who want to understand how and why things work in detail will find their answers below.

This Overview section has five subsections. 1.1 is the foreword. 1.2 describes the relationship between the manual, the website, and the archive. 1.3 offers guidance on how to read the manual. 1.4 provides entry points organized by reader type. 1.5 documents the manual’s conventions and notation.

1.1 — Foreword

It is, as far as we know, the first manual of its kind. Election integrity has been a topic of public concern for many years, but the conversation has often been polarized: one camp insisting that elections are essentially perfect and that any concern is conspiracy-mongering, another camp insisting that elections are pervasively fraudulent and that the official results cannot be trusted at all. Both camps are wrong, in different ways. The truth — that vote reporting in the United States is mostly accurate but is not infallible, that errors do happen, that the existing correction mechanisms catch most but not all of them, and that an independent verification layer would close the remaining gap — is harder to defend because it doesn’t fit the partisan templates that dominate the discourse.

America Counts exists to make that harder, more accurate position practical. Actual Vote is the tool we’ve built to do it. The methodology has been refined over multiple analyses across multiple states and election cycles. The first major published analysis (the NC 2024 Primary Election Report) covered 321,502 votes across seven counties and found zero true discrepancies after rigorous investigation. Subsequent analyses — including the multi-state 2024 General Election operation spanning North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida — have continued to apply, stress-test, and refine the methodology. The work has been technically demanding, but it is now mature enough to write down systematically and comprehensively.

This manual is that systematic write-down. It explains what Actual Vote is, what it does, what the legal basis for it is, how to use the various access methods, how the analysis methodology actually works step by step, what the operational realities of running it look like, how the findings are reported, what philosophical principles guide the work, and what AC recommends to the broader election administration ecosystem. It includes a glossary of terms (Appendix A), case studies for illustration (now in the site’s Case Studies section), and appendices for reference material (Appendix B).

About this edition

This is v2 of the manual. v1 (~90,000 words across 13 sections) was written in 2024 and provided the foundation. v2 is a comprehensive rewrite, not an incremental edit. It synthesizes the full corpus of approximately one hundred source documents — operational notes, research papers, case study materials, data science projects, policy documents, legal analyses, and accumulated institutional knowledge — into a single canonical reference.

The major expansions in v2 include: a substantially richer organizational profile of America Counts (Section 2.5), including governance policies (Section 2.6); a new section on the evidentiary status and legal pathways for AV evidence (Sections 6.4–6.5); expanded access method documentation including the in-app consent flow (Section 7.7); a formal data model section (Section 4.5); new material on accessibility and inclusion (Section 4.7); a restructured philosophy section organized around four named principles (Section 13); an honest mapping of AV against competing election integrity methodologies (Section 13.5); sixteen case studies organized by era and type (since moved to the site’s Case Studies section); a new data science and measurement subsection (Section 15.4); and substantially expanded appendices including a Who’s Who directory (B.1), an index of AC analyses (B.2), an election administration terminology reference (B.11), and FOIA templates (B.12).

Who this manual is for

The manual is intended for people who want to understand how Actual Vote works in detail. That includes volunteers who use the system, operators of audit committees who want to run analyses themselves, journalists and researchers who want to evaluate the methodology, election administrators who want to understand what AC is doing in their jurisdictions, lawyers assessing the evidentiary value of AV findings, political candidates and campaign operatives who want to know what evidence Actual Vote can provide, donors evaluating whether to support AC’s mission, civil society leaders considering how AV fits into the broader election integrity landscape, and students and educators studying election administration.

It is not intended as the first thing a casual visitor to the AC website should read; that role is filled by the popular content on americacounts.us (see Section 1.2). The manual rewards depth. Readers looking for a quick overview should start with the website; readers who want to understand how and why things work the way they do will find their answers here.

A note on voice

The manual’s voice is the voice of the NC 2024 Primary Election Report: descriptive, evidentiary, conservative about causal claims, willing to flag uncertainty, unwilling to overreach. This voice is not always exciting. It is rarely dramatic. It is sometimes laborious. But it is robust — claims made in this voice tend to survive scrutiny because they don’t pretend to know more than they do.

When the manual says “AC has found zero true discrepancies,” it means exactly that — not that elections are perfect, not that fraud doesn’t exist, not that the reporting layer is guaranteed to be accurate everywhere. It means that in the specific analyses AC has conducted, the specific comparisons AC has performed have produced zero confirmed reporting errors. The precision of the claim is the source of its strength.

A note on credit

This manual is the product of work by many people over many years. The primary technical content reflects the methodology developed and operated by Jason Flatley, AC’s CTO and methodology architect. The institutional framework, the founding vision, and the underlying mission reflect the work of Dan Wolf, AC’s founder and CEO, and the broader team and partner organizations who have supported Actual Vote since its inception. The drafting of v2.0 of this manual was supported by AI assistance working from the canonical AC corpus and from extended drafting conversations with Jason Flatley; the substantive content and the operating decisions are AC’s. Errors, of course, are the manual’s own.

If you find errors, omissions, or unclear passages, please report them to AC through the contact mechanisms on americacounts.us. The manual will improve with feedback.

1.2 — The Manual, the Website, and the Archive

This manual is one part of a larger publication ecosystem. Understanding how the pieces fit together helps readers know when to come here and when to go elsewhere.

The popular layer

The America Counts website (americacounts.us) is the primary public-facing presence for Actual Vote. It is designed for visitors who are encountering Actual Vote for the first time or who want practical guidance without technical depth. The website’s main pages include an overview of what America Counts is and why it exists, a sequential Start Here walkthrough for first-time users, links to published analyses (the NC 2024 Primary Election Report, the 2024 General Election News Page, and future reports), news and updates, donation information (Democracy Counts, Inc. is a 501(c)(3); donations are tax-deductible), recommended reading about elections, and contact information.

The website is the primary surface for most visitors. A casual visitor who wants to know what Actual Vote is, who runs it, and how to participate should go to the website, not to this manual.

The evidence layer

The Actual Vote Video Archive (av.democracycounts.org) is the evidence layer. It is a web application that displays every approved submission in the system. Visitors can browse submissions by location, see submission details and metadata, and view the underlying video recordings. Each submission has a permanent URL of the form https://av.democracycounts.org/PollTape/{id} where {id} is the persistent integer ID. This is the canonical citation form for AC submissions.

The archive is designed for visitors who want to see the evidence directly. It is the evidentiary foundation for every finding in every AC report. A reader who wants to verify a claim in an AC analysis can follow the submission links to the archive and watch the recordings themselves.

The reference layer (this manual)

This manual is the reference layer: the technical documentation for Actual Vote. It explains what the system is, how it works, why it works the way it does, what AC has found, and what AC recommends. The relationship between the three layers is:

The popular layer (americacounts.us) says: “Here’s what we do and how you can help.” It is sequential, action-oriented, and accessible.

The evidence layer (av.democracycounts.org) says: “Here’s the evidence.” It is archival, permanent, and independently verifiable.

The reference layer (this manual) says: “Here’s exactly how it works, in detail, with all the sources and caveats.” It is comprehensive, technically rigorous, and designed for reference.

The three layers complement each other. The popular layer is the door; the evidence layer is the evidence room; the manual is the library behind both. A visitor who only reads the popular layer gets a complete picture of what Actual Vote is for and how to participate. A visitor who browses the archive can see the raw evidence. A reader who also engages with the manual gets the underlying methodology, the institutional framework, the legal analysis, the philosophical principles, and the operating decisions that tie everything together.

A note on the standalone technical paper

In addition to this manual, America Counts maintains a standalone white paper, Why Actual Vote Is Trustworthy (Technical Version). The paper is a self-contained companion document, more focused than the full manual and suitable for independent circulation. It is not a chapter of the manual but is referenced from several chapters where its arguments are relevant. The paper will be posted alongside this manual when it is ready for publication.

Manual-to-website mapping

When the popular layer and the manual cover the same material, the popular layer is the simpler and friendlier presentation, and the manual is the canonical detailed presentation. If the two ever conflict in their substantive claims (rather than in their level of detail), the manual is canonical and the popular layer should be updated to match.

The following table maps each manual section to corresponding website page(s):

Manual Section	Website Equivalent	Notes
1 (Overview)	About page	Website is briefer
2 (Conceptual Foundation)	About page, Start Here	Foundation concepts distributed across popular pages
3 (Understanding Poll Tapes)	No direct equivalent	Technical reference for poll tape anatomy
4 (System Architecture)	No direct equivalent	Technical depth exceeds website scope
5 (Using the Actual Vote App)	Start Here flow, app store listing	Website is action-oriented; manual adds depth
6 (Legal Basis)	“Using Actual Vote is Legal” page	Website version is a summary
7 (Access Methods)	Start Here flow, planning pages	Website is action-oriented; manual is reference
8 (Methodology)	No direct equivalent	Full methodology is manual-only
9 (Doing a Comparison Analysis)	No direct equivalent	Practitioner guide is manual-only
10 (Operational Practice)	Start Here, Safety page	Website covers user-facing aspects only
11 (Training and Volunteer Onboarding)	Start Here flow	Website covers basics; manual has full onboarding
12 (Findings and Reports)	Published analyses pages	Reports themselves live on the website
13 (Philosophy)	“Why You Can Trust AV” page	Website version is condensed
14 (Comparison to Other Approaches)	No direct equivalent	Landscape analysis is manual-only
15 (Recommendations)	No direct equivalent	Recommendations are manual-only
16 (Case Studies — retired)	Case Studies section	Chapter retired; material lives at /case-studies/
17 (Vulnerability Taxonomy — retired)	Case Studies taxonomy	Chapter retired; the sourced incident taxonomy is at /case-studies/taxonomy/, with a brief overview in Section 2.4
18 (Vote Reporting in NC)	No direct equivalent	Jurisdiction-specific reference
Appendix A (Glossary)	Glossary page	Website version may differ
Appendix B (Reference Library)	Various (User Agreement, Privacy Policy)	Documents reproduced in both locations
Appendix C (FAQ)	FAQ page	Website version may differ

Update protocol. Updates to methodology, terminology, or operating decisions should originate in the manual and propagate to the website. Updates to the website that don’t have a manual counterpart (new app features, UI changes, event announcements) can happen independently. When the manual is revised, the version log (B.12) records the changes, and the corresponding website pages should be reviewed for consistency.

Versioning relationship. The manual uses semantic versioning (v2.0, v2.1, etc.). The website does not carry version numbers but should reflect the current version of the manual’s substantive content. The version log (B.12) is the authoritative record of what changed between versions.

1.3 — How to Read This Manual

The manual is long. Different readers will want different things from it. This subsection offers guidance on how to navigate the manual depending on what you’re trying to do.

Read the whole thing in order

The manual is structured to be read straight through. A reader who starts with Section 1 (Overview) and reads through to Appendix C (FAQ) will get the full picture, with each section building on its predecessors. This is the recommended path for readers who want a comprehensive understanding of how Actual Vote works, who are evaluating the methodology and need to see all the parts in context, who are new to AC and want depth from the start, or who are preparing to operate or contribute to the system seriously.

Focus on specific sections

A reader who already has some context and wants to focus on specific topics can jump directly to the relevant section. The sections are designed to be readable on their own, with cross-references when the reader needs to look elsewhere. Specific entry points by topic are in Section 1.4.

Use the manual as a reference

A reader who is operating Actual Vote in practice — recording poll tapes, running an analysis, communicating with elections offices — can use the manual as a reference. Look up the specific subsection you need, read just that, and come back later for the next question. The manual’s structure (numbered sections and subsections, introductions at the start of each section, cross-references throughout) supports this kind of use.

1.4 — Entry Points by Reader Type

This subsection identifies fifteen reader types and suggests, for each, where in the manual to start and what to read in what order. The reader types are not mutually exclusive — many readers will fit multiple categories — but each gives a distinct path through the material.

Lone Actual Vote user

You are an individual who wants to use the Actual Vote app to record poll tapes on election night. You may have just downloaded the app, or you may be considering it. You want to know what to do, what to expect, what your rights are, and how your contribution will be used.

Start with Sections 2.1–2.3 for the conceptual framework, then Section 7.2 (Method 1: Election Night) for the access method that applies to you, Section 6.1 (General Legal Principle) for the legal basis, Section 7.7 (In-App Consent Flow) for what to expect when you open the app, and Section 10.1 (Field Operations Overview) for practical guidance. Optionally read Section 4.6 (the Video Archive) to understand what happens to your submission after you upload it.

Video-recording team member

You are part of an organized team — a Scrutineers chapter, a partner organization, or an ad-hoc volunteer group — planning to record poll tapes for an upcoming election. You may be the team lead or a member.

Read Section 2 (Conceptual Foundation) in its entirety for full context. Then Section 7 (Access Methods) in its entirety, since your team may use multiple methods. Then Section 10 (Operational Practice) in its entirety for team-level operational guidance. Then Section 6 (Legal Basis) in its entirety, because you’ll need to explain the legal basis to teammates and to elections offices you encounter.

Audit committee member or leader

You are part of a local civic group that wants to operate the full Comparison Analysis pipeline yourselves, not just contribute recordings. You are the most ambitious user category and you need the deepest understanding.

Read most of the manual. Start with Section 2, then Section 4 (System Architecture), Section 6 (Legal Basis), Section 7 (Access Methods), Section 8 (Methodology — this is your operating manual for the pipeline), Section 10 (Operational Practice), Section 12 (Findings and Reports — you will need to produce reports), and the Case Studies section. Also review B.10 (Technical Data Standards) for the data structures you’ll work with. You should also reach out to Jason Flatley directly. AC offers consulting and coordination support for audit committees, and you’ll get further with direct contact than you will with the manual alone.

Journalist or media professional

You are a reporter, editor, or producer covering elections, election integrity, or related topics. You want to understand what AC is, what its methodology actually does, what its findings have been, and how to evaluate its claims.

Start with Section 1.1 (Foreword) and Section 2 (Conceptual Foundation), especially Section 2.5 (About America Counts). Then Section 8 (Methodology) for how the analysis works. Then Section 12 (Findings and Reports) for how to read and cite an AC analysis. Then Section 13 (Philosophy) for AC’s voice and posture. For specific cases, the Case Studies section provides detailed examples. For operational context, Section 10 covers the human side of the work. AC welcomes media inquiries through the contact mechanisms on americacounts.us.

Academic researcher or political scientist

You are an academic, policy analyst, or independent researcher studying election administration, election integrity, or civic technology. You want to evaluate AC’s methodology, draw on its data, and possibly cite its findings.

Start with Section 2 (Conceptual Foundation), then Section 4 (System Architecture), Section 8 (Methodology — the methodological core you’ll need to evaluate or cite), Section 12 (Findings and Reports), Section 15.4 (Data Science and Measurement), and B.10 (Technical Data Standards) for the data structures. For the theoretical framework, the technical paper pointers in Section 13.5 (Stochastic Harm, Social Well-Being, Election Insurability) provide entry points to AC’s academic contributions. For research collaborations, please contact AC directly.

Election administrator / SOE

You are an elections office staff member, supervisor of elections, board of elections member, or state-level election administrator. AC may be working in your jurisdiction, or may be considering it, or you may be encountering AC for the first time.

Start with Section 1.1 (Foreword) for the overall framing. Then Section 2, especially Section 2.3 (What Actual Vote Does and Doesn’t Do) and Section 2.5 (About America Counts) — the “doesn’t do” material is especially important. Then Section 6 (Legal Basis) so you can evaluate AC’s authority claims. Then Section 7 (Access Methods) to understand the requests you may receive from AC volunteers. Then Section 10.8 (Communication with Elections Offices) for how AC approaches its interactions with offices like yours. Then Section 13 (Philosophy) for AC’s posture. Then Section 15.1 (Recommendations to Elections Offices) for what AC believes about election administration — you may agree or disagree, but you’ll know where AC stands.

AC is a vote reporting verification system, not a fraud accusation. AC’s methodology is conservative, its voice is descriptive, and its findings are framed as evidence rather than as accusations. An election administrator’s first encounter with AC is best framed as a cooperation opportunity, not as an adversarial challenge.

Political candidate or campaign operative

You are a candidate for political office or you work for a candidate’s campaign. You’re interested in election integrity for reasons connected to your candidacy. You want to know whether AC’s evidence is something you can use, what it can and can’t do for you, and how to engage with it appropriately.

Start with Section 1.1 (Foreword), then Section 2, especially Section 2.3 (What AV Does and Doesn’t Do). Then Section 6 (Legal Basis) in its entirety, particularly Section 6.4 (Evidentiary Status) and Section 6.5 (Legal Pathways) — these are directly relevant to how AV findings might support or inform legal proceedings. Then Section 12 (Findings and Reports) for how AC’s findings are structured. Then Section 13 (Philosophy) for understanding AC’s voice and what you should and should not expect AC to say.

A note specifically for political candidates: AC is non-partisan and does not endorse candidates or parties. AC’s findings are descriptive, not accusatory, and are framed in a way that does not pre-judge causes or attribute motives. If you are looking for evidence to support a specific claim about an election, AC can tell you what the underlying vote reporting actually looks like, but AC cannot tell you what caused any discrepancy or what the appropriate legal or political response is. Those judgments are yours, your lawyers’, and the courts’.

Lawyer or legal professional

You are an attorney, legal scholar, or legal professional evaluating the evidentiary value of AV findings, advising a client about election integrity issues, or assessing AC’s legal framework.

Start with Section 6 (Legal Basis) in its entirety — this is the most relevant section, covering the legal foundation, the three legal cases for recording, evidentiary status, legal pathways, and the subpoena question. Then Section 8 (Methodology) for understanding the methodology that produces the evidence. Then Section 12 (Findings and Reports) for how findings are documented and characterized. Then B.4 (User Agreement) and B.5 (Privacy Policy) for the formal documents governing user relationships. The technical paper pointers in Section 13.5 provide entry to AC’s academic publications, which may be relevant for expert testimony or legal briefing purposes.

Donor or funder evaluating AC

You are considering a financial contribution to America Counts or evaluating AC for grant purposes. You want to understand what the organization does, how effectively it does it, and what impact your support would produce.

Start with Section 2.5 (About America Counts) for the organizational profile, including the origin story, key personnel, organizational structure, and funding model. Then Section 1.1 (Foreword) for the overall framing. Then Section 12 (Findings and Reports) for what AC has accomplished to date. Then Section 15.4 (Data Science and Measurement) for how AC measures and communicates impact, including the AV impact metric, urgency-targeting, and Election Integrity Points framework. Then Section 13 (Philosophy) for the principled foundations. Our analyses and the Case Studies section provide concrete examples of the work in action.

Civil society leader or election advocate

You are a leader in a civic organization, an election reform advocate, or someone working broadly on democratic governance. You want to understand how AV fits into the larger election integrity ecosystem and whether AC’s approach aligns with your organization’s mission.

Start with Section 2 (Conceptual Foundation) for the full context. Then Section 13 (Philosophy) in its entirety, especially Section 13.5 (AV in the Broader Election Integrity Landscape) for an honest mapping of AV against other tools and organizations. Then Section 15 (Recommendations) for AC’s positions on what needs to change. Then Section 12 (Findings and Reports) for what AC has found. AC welcomes partnerships with non-partisan civic organizations doing complementary work.

AC volunteer or staff member

You are a volunteer or staff member of America Counts. You may be new to the team and trying to get oriented, or you may be experienced and looking up specific operational details.

For new volunteers and staff: read the whole manual. It will be the most efficient way to get a complete picture of what AC does and how the work fits together. Plan for several hours of reading distributed across days. The manual represents AC’s institutional memory in document form.

For experienced staff: use the manual as a reference. Look up the specific section you need, contribute corrections and clarifications back to AC for incorporation in future versions, and recommend the manual to others when you need to point them at a comprehensive source.

Casual visitor with technical curiosity

You are a curious person who came across AC somewhere — a news article, a friend’s recommendation, a search result — and wants to dig in past the popular content. You don’t have a specific role, but you’re technically inclined and you want depth.

Start with Section 1.1 (Foreword), then Section 2 (Conceptual Foundation), then Section 8 (Methodology — at least the overview and one or two step subsections), then Section 13 (Philosophy). After that, follow whatever threads catch your interest. The manual rewards exploration; you don’t have to read it linearly.

Student or educator

You are a high school civics student, a college political science student, or an educator teaching about elections, democratic governance, or civic technology. You want to understand how election verification works in practice, not just in theory.

Start with Section 2 (Conceptual Foundation) for the fundamental concepts — what vote reporting is, what a poll tape is, what AV does and doesn’t do. Then Section 4 (System Architecture) for how the system is built. Then Section 13 (Philosophy) for the principles. For a deeper dive, Section 8 (Methodology) shows how real election analysis works step by step. An important message for students: you don’t have to be a registered voter to participate in Actual Vote. Anyone with a mobile phone can record publicly posted poll tapes on election night (Section 7.2). Election verification is a form of civic participation open to everyone.

International observer or non-US person

You are an election observer, researcher, or interested citizen from outside the United States. You may be interested in AV as a model for election verification in your own country, or you may be studying the US election system from abroad.

Start with Section 2 (Conceptual Foundation), which explains the fundamentals of the US vote reporting system that AV operates within. Note that US elections are administered at the county level, not nationally — this decentralization is central to understanding both AV’s methodology and its challenges. Then Section 4 (System Architecture) for the technical system, Section 8 (Methodology) for the analysis pipeline, and Section 13 (Philosophy) for the principles. Section 13.5 (AV in the Broader Landscape) maps AV against other election integrity approaches, some of which have international parallels. Section 15 (Recommendations) articulates what AC believes the US should do differently; some recommendations may be applicable in other national contexts.

Strong partisan wanting to understand how AV serves their concerns

You are politically engaged, you have strong views about election integrity, and you want to know whether AV is useful to your side.

The short answer: AV is useful to every side, because accurate vote reporting benefits everyone. AV is non-partisan (Section 13.2). A discrepancy is a discrepancy regardless of which party’s candidate is affected, and a clean result is a clean result regardless of who won. AC does not characterize discrepancies as “fraud” (Section 12.2), does not endorse candidates, does not take partisan donations, and does not allow any political faction to claim AV as its own tool. If you care about accurate elections — and most people do, regardless of party — AV is working on your behalf. The best entry point for understanding why is Section 13 (Philosophy) followed by Section 2.6 (What America Counts Will and Won’t Do).

1.5 — Conventions and Notation

This subsection documents the conventions the manual uses.

Cross-reference notation

The manual refers to specific sections by number — for example, “Section 8.4” means Section 8, subsection 4. When the manual refers to “this section” it usually means the current top-level section unless context indicates otherwise. A reference like “see Section 8.9 for the seven-check investigation process” is a direct cross-reference and should resolve to the named subsection.

Section structure

Each top-level section (Section 1 through Section 18, plus the Appendices) follows a similar template: a section introduction describing what the section covers and why; subsections in order, each with its own internal structure; and an end-of-section marker pointing to the next section. The structure is intended to make the manual navigable and to make individual subsections readable on their own.

Callout types

The manual uses several types of in-text emphasis for content that requires special attention.

Definition marks formal definitions of terms. Used sparingly for the most important terms; most definitions are given inline in prose, and the full glossary is in Appendix A.

Example marks concrete examples that illustrate a general point. Used to ground abstract material in specific cases.

Important marks statements that the reader should not miss. Used for things like the matched-poll-tape caveat (Section 13.4) and the “does not” boundary statements (Section 2.3).

Versioning

The manual uses semantic versioning. v2.0 is the current release. Future versions will be v2.1, v2.2, etc. for incremental improvements; v3.0 for major restructuring. The version log (B.12) records the changes between versions. When the manual references a document that has its own versioning (e.g., the User Agreement or the Privacy Policy), the manual references the version in effect at the time of v2.0 publication.

Tone

The manual’s tone is descriptive, conservative about claims, direct, patient, friendly to the reader’s intelligence, and honest about limitations. This tone is intentional and is the most important single decision about the manual. The voice is not always exciting. It is rarely dramatic. It is sometimes laborious. But it is robust — claims made in this voice tend to survive scrutiny because they don’t pretend to know more than they do.