Here are all the methods that were used in the 2026 midterms:
Ballot Security Features:
• Watermark: Visible/invisible design pressed into paper (GA, TN, Mohave Co. AZ)
• Security fibers: Fluorescent fibers in pulp, visible under UV/IR (Mohave Co. AZ; proposed AZ SB 1057)
• IR taggant: Invisible marker responding only to IR light (Mohave Co. AZ)
• UV dead paper: Paper that doesn't fluoresce under UV (Mohave Co. AZ)
• Microprinting: Tiny text that blurs when copied (Mohave Co. AZ; proposed AZ SB 1057, federal EO)
• Hologram/mylar: Angled shifting image, anti-copy (proposed AZ SB 1057, federal EO)
• Serial number/barcode: Unique ID per ballot (widely used for mail ballots)
• Security thread: Embedded strip in paper (vendor-available, not yet widely adopted)

Process Safeguards (beyond paper):
• Signature verification on mail envelopes
• Unique barcoded envelopes per voter
• Ballot tracking portals
• Chain of custody: two-person teams, sealed containers, GPS, cameras (e.g., King Co. WA: 80 cameras)
• Risk-limiting audits: physical recount vs. machine tallies
• Reconciliation: all ballots accounted for before certification

A forged ballot fails at multiple independent layers—even if someone replicated the watermark and fibers, they'd still need the correct serial number, a matching signature, and the ballot would have to survive audit reconciliation. That's why election security experts describe the system as having "no single point of failure." The paper features are one layer in a much larger stack.