(INDIANAPOLIS) – Two-thirds of Indiana counties use electronic voting machines which don’t leave a paper record. Democrats want to replace them before the November election.
A panel of computer researchers led by IU president Michael McRobbie urged states to insist on voting machines with paper trails by 2020, and preferably this year. The Committee on the Future of Voting says it’s necessary as a safeguard against hacking. State Democratic Chairman John Zody says Virginia replaced machines on short notice before its statewide election last year, and says it’s important enough for the state to absorb the cost, estimated at anywhere from $25 million to $36 million.
Secretary of State Connie Lawson has said Indiana’s not at risk for hacking because the machines aren’t connected to the Internet. Zody argues that’s not the only potential risk.
Indiana is one of 13 states whose voting machines don’t include a paper record.
Lawson’s office referred questions about the study and Zody’s comments to her reelection campaign, which responded with a statement from Indiana Republican Chairman Kyle Hupfer accusing Zody of “a blatantly partisan and purely political attempt to undermine the credibility of our elections.” Hupfer says Indiana’s elections are “safe, free and secure.”
(Photo: David McNew/Getty Images)
