Comparative view
Election safeguards matrix
Which countries can actually check their own count — ballot type, audit requirement, who runs the election, who may observe it, and how people register and vote. One row per country profile, read from the same records as the profiles themselves.
Audit requirements are recorded for 50 of 51 country profiles. Blank cells are gaps in this database, not findings about the country.
| Country | Ballot | Audit | Run by | Domestic observers | International observers | Registration | Voter ID | Postal | From abroad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ArgentinaArgentina | Paper | Judicial only | Mixed | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Photo ID | None | Restricted |
| AustriaAustria | Paper | Judicial only | Mixed | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Any document | Universal | Universal |
| BelarusBelarus | Paper | None | Government | Yes | No | State-initiated | Any document | None | Universal |
| BoliviaBolivia | Paper | None | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Mixed | not recorded | None | Restricted |
| Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina | Paper | Mandatory recount | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Any document | Restricted | Universal |
| BrazilBrazil | Electronic only | Ad hoc | Judiciary | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | Photo ID | None | Restricted |
| BulgariaBulgaria | Mixed | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Any document | None | Restricted |
| Cabo VerdeCabo Verde | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | Photo ID | None | Universal |
| CanadaCanada | Paper | Ad hoc | Independent commission | Yes | not recorded | Mixed | Any document | Universal | Universal |
| EcuadorEcuador | Paper | Ad hoc | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Photo ID | None | Restricted |
| FijiFiji | Paper | Ad hoc | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | Photo ID | Restricted | Restricted |
| FranceFrance | Paper | Judicial only | Mixed | Yes | Yes | Mixed | Photo ID | None | Universal |
| GeorgiaGeorgia | Mixed | Mandatory recount | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Photo ID | None | Restricted |
| GermanyGermany | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Any document | Universal | Restricted |
| GuatemalaGuatemala | Paper | Ad hoc | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | Photo ID | None | Restricted |
| HaitiHaiti | Paper | Ad hoc | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | Photo ID | None | Restricted |
| HungaryHungary | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Photo ID | Restricted | Restricted |
| IndiaIndia | Electronic + paper trail | Ad hoc | Independent commission | Yes | not recorded | Voter-initiated | Any document | Restricted | None |
| IndonesiaIndonesia | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | State-initiated | Photo ID | not recorded | Universal |
| IsraelIsrael | Paper | Judicial only | Judiciary | Yes | No | Automatic | Photo ID | None | Restricted |
| KenyaKenya | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | Photo ID | None | Restricted |
| LatviaLatvia | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Photo ID | Restricted | Universal |
| LithuaniaLithuania | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Photo ID | Restricted | Universal |
| MalawiMalawi | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | not recorded | None | None |
| MexicoMexico | Paper | Mandatory recount | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | Photo ID | Restricted | Restricted |
| MoldovaMoldova | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Any document | not recorded | Universal |
| MoroccoMorocco | Paper | Judicial only | Government | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | Photo ID | None | Restricted |
| MozambiqueMozambique | Paper | Judicial only | Mixed | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | Any document | None | Restricted |
| New ZealandNew Zealand | Paper | Mandatory recount | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Mixed | None | Restricted | Restricted |
| NicaraguaNicaragua | Paper | None | Government | No | No | State-initiated | Photo ID | None | None |
| NigeriaNigeria | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | Photo ID | None | None |
| PakistanPakistan | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | State-initiated | Photo ID | Restricted | None |
| PhilippinesPhilippines | Electronic + paper trail | Mandatory recount | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | not recorded | Restricted | Universal |
| PolandPoland | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Any document | Restricted | Universal |
| RomaniaRomania | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Photo ID | Restricted | Universal |
| RussiaRussia | Mixed | None | Government | Yes | No | State-initiated | Photo ID | Restricted | Universal |
| SenegalSenegal | Paper | Judicial only | Mixed | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | Photo ID | None | Universal |
| SerbiaSerbia | Paper | Ad hoc | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Photo ID | None | Restricted |
| SlovakiaSlovakia | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Any document | Restricted | Restricted |
| South AfricaSouth Africa | Paper | Ad hoc | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | Photo ID | None | Restricted |
| South KoreaSouth Korea | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Photo ID | Restricted | Restricted |
| South SudanSouth Sudan | Paper | Ad hoc | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | Any document | None | Restricted |
| SwedenSweden | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Any document | Restricted | Universal |
| TaiwanTaiwan | Paper | not recorded | Independent commission | Yes | not recorded | State-initiated | Photo ID | None | None |
| The GambiaThe Gambia | Mixed | Ad hoc | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | Photo ID | None | None |
| TürkiyeTürkiye | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Photo ID | None | Universal |
| UkraineUkraine | Paper | Judicial only | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Automatic | Photo ID | None | Universal |
| United KingdomUnited Kingdom | Paper | Judicial only | Mixed | Yes | not recorded | Voter-initiated | Photo ID | Varies | Restricted |
| United StatesUnited States | Mixed | Varies | Mixed | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | Varies | Varies | Universal |
| VenezuelaVenezuela | Electronic + paper trail | Ad hoc | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | Photo ID | None | Restricted |
| ZambiaZambia | Paper | Ad hoc | Independent commission | Yes | Yes | Voter-initiated | Photo ID | None | None |
How to read this
These are formal rules, not an assessment of practice. A country with strong rules on paper may still administer an election badly, and a country with weak rules may run a clean one. Nothing here is scored or ranked: this database publishes no composite integrity score, because collapsing these very different columns into one number would hide exactly the distinctions the table exists to show.
“Not recorded” means this database has not yet established the rule — it is a gap in our coverage, not a finding that the safeguard is absent. A country that genuinely has no audit requirement is shown as “None”.