> I don't understand why Americans require machines to count.

There's actually nothing wrong with machine counting, I believe it was found to be more accurate also overall less prone to fatigue and mistakes. [0]

The real strange thing in the US is the electoral college system for Presidential elections, surely 1 person 1 vote nationwide would make sense. Afterall the President is supposed to represent everyone equally.

[0] https://www.npr.org/2022/10/11/1128197774/research-finds-han...