Like so much of American government traditions, it started with England. In the middle decades of the 1800s, an emerging middle British class began speaking up for its rights. Its seminal act was the parliamentary publication of a “People’s Charter of 1838,” which, among other things, called for a secret ballot. The Chartist movement, as it became known, also introduced the first idea of a mechanical means of marking the ballot: ensuring more standardization of the process, as well as only a single vote for each person. The idea caught on, and by the end of the century spread to the United States.

On this day, February 14, in 1899, an act of Congress authorized the use of voting machines in federal elections. Several machines were already under consideration: one patented in the U.S. by an Englishman that was more appropriate for British-style elections; and another patented in 1881 by a Chicago inventor, created the plans for the first machine that could be used in general federal elections.

Electronic voting machines have been the preferred type since the 2000 presidential election caused controversy over semi-punched vote cards made with mechanical machines. Electronic voting machines have had their own critics, too, with some groups claiming their lack of verifiable paper records or vulnerability to hacking could lead to electoral fraud.