With punch card systems, voters punch holes in cards using a supplied punch device, to indicate votes for their chosen candidates. After voting, the voter may feed the card directly into a computer vote tabulating device at the polling place, or the voter may place the card in a ballot box, which is later transported to a central location for tabulation.
Two common types of punch cards used in the United States are the "Votomatic" card and the "Datavote" card. With the Votomatic card, the locations at which holes may be punched to indicate votes are each assigned numbers. The number of the hole is the only information printed on the card. The list of candidates and directions for punching the holes are printed in a separate booklet. With the Datavote card, the name of the candidate is printed on the ballot next to the location of the hole to be punched.
Punch cards and computer tally machines were first used in the U.S. for the 1964 Presidential primary election in two counties in the State of Georgia.
Although many U.S. punch card systems are being replaced by more advanced systems, many voters still use them. Punch card systems were used by 37.3% of voters in the U.S. 1996 Presidential election.
