By Kent Yang | Staff Writer
Since the inception of the United States in 1776, elections have been essential for choosing the next president. From colonial times until the late 19th century, elections were held, and votes were cast orally at courthouses. Presidents such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln were elected this way. However, this changed with the invention of the Acme Voting Machine.
The Acme Voting Machine was invented in Bridgewater, Connecticut, around 1880 to prevent voter fraud. With its open-slot box design, crank lever mechanism, and tabulator, it offered voters an honest, secure and reliable way to cast their votes. In the following years, it was reported that election officials would tear or mark ballots, making them invalid. This issue prompted the invention of the Lever Style Voting Machine in Lockport, New York. By pulling down its levers, the machine locked votes to prevent tampering, while also making the process faster and more accurate. While it was effective and efficient for its time, its maintenance was complex and it had limitations, such as only being able to tally votes internally rather than producing a verifiable record of each individual vote.
