WASHINGTON (AP) — Elections are a foundation of democracy, but they’re also human exercises. Despite all the laws and rules governing how they should run, elections can sometimes appear to be messy. The U.S. election system is highly decentralized, carried out by thousands of municipal and county voting jurisdictions. Despite its imperfections, it reliably produces certified outcomes that stand up to scrutiny. The inevitable problems on Election Day will invariably be the result of human error or technical glitches, not a sign that the election is tainted or rigged. Still, election security experts say election offices need to be transparent about the hiccups to combat misinformation.
