Mercuri method

{{Refimprove|date=September 2007}}

The Mercuri method is the most popular and notable form of a voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT). It is a modification to direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting machines to provide a physical paper audit record that may be used to verify an electronic vote count.{{Cite web|last=Mercuri|first=Rebecca|date=Oct 1, 2002|title=A Better Ballot Box?|url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/a-better-ballot-box|access-date=2020-11-05|website=IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News|language=en}}

Because electronic voting machines record votes internally, in computer software, vote fraud may be difficult to detect. Reconciling the electronic vote count with the physical vote count in all, or a random sampling of, machines allows poll-workers to screen for fraud. An election using this method would benefit from the efficiency of the DRE machines with the confidence instilled by a physical record.{{Cite web|last=Ropek|first=Lucas|date=March 25, 2020|title=America's Love Affair with Paperless Voting Is Over. Here's Why|url=https://www.govtech.com/security/Americas-Love-Affair-with-Paperless-Voting-Is-Over-Heres-Why.html|access-date=2020-11-05|website=www.govtech.com|language=en}}

The method works by displaying a paper vote record under glass or clear plastic after a voter indicates their choices. The voter is instructed to verify that the paper record correctly indicates their vote. They finalize their vote by pressing a button or pulling a lever, and the paper record is stored. (This is called a voter verified paper audit trail.) At no point can the voter remove the paper record from the voting area. To do so would allow for there to be a receipt that could be used to coerce the voter into voting for a candidate or to allow selling of votes.

The Mecuri method is named after Rebecca Mercuri who described it in her PhD thesis at the University of Pennsylvania in 2000.{{cite web|url=http://www.notablesoftware.com/evote.html|title=Electronic Voting|first=R.|last=Mercuri|website=Notablesoftware.com|accessdate=6 January 2018}}