The invention provides systems and methods for ensuring security for a voting machine. The voting machine can include a display screen upon which numerous election choices are displayed for selection by a voter. A detachable printer can also be provided that is adapted to be securely attached to the voting machine and that prints the choices selected among the election choices to a print medium to generate a printed audit trail. A summary of the election choices visible on the display screen can be simultaneously compared with the printed audit trail by the voter poised in a voting position.