Demos call for paper records of electronic votes

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 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 I-U 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-to-36-million dollars.

Secretary of State Connie Lawson’s office has maintained 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.