Many states and counties tabulate votes at vote centers and print poll tapes for internal review, but are not required to post the tapes in public (or are forbidden from doing so). This means that the general public doesn’t have the option of being an Actual Vote Hero in these areas.

After being printed, the poll tapes are often printed and reviewed by election officials, poll workers, and/or poll watchers, depending on the local laws and regulations, before being delivered to the county election office. This means that poll workers and poll watchers may be able to harness the power of Actual Vote to video-record poll tapes at the vote center they’re working at.

Specifically, if you are a poll worker or poll watcher in such a county, check if you have permission to record the poll tapes at your vote center with Actual Vote. If so, please get Actual Vote and record these tapes. You can see the basic procedure in How To Be an Actual Vote Hero—just adjust the procedure to fit your situation. It only takes a minute or two to document the ground truth about the tabulated vote totals at your location.

If you live in a state or county where poll tapes are publicly posted after the polls close, of course, you can simply wait until they’re posted and legally record them as a member of the general public. 

Find out how your state or county works by selecting your state on our Actual Vote State Selector page. If poll tapes are printed but not posted in your area, your recording may be the only chance we get to observe these tapes at the start of the chain of custody.