BLOOMINGTON — A new Indiana University study shows many voting machines in our state could be at risk for security issues.
Indiana is one of only eight states that will use paperless voting machines in this election.
The IU Public Policy Institute says those older paperless voting machines, used in 52 of Indiana's 92 counties, could pose security risks in the upcoming election.
The newer machines use a combination of electronic touch-screen technology, which then produces a paper print-out to verify your vote, should it need to be cross referenced.
The older machines do not print the ballot, which means if there were a glitch or a hack, there would be no way of knowing.
Joti Martin is on the team which help author the study. "It could be detrimental because we wouldn't know if our election has been tampered with, if there has been a malfunction," she said. "There would be no way for us to know. And without a paper trail, we couldn't even crosscheck."
It is too late to make any changes for this election.
Last year, a federal lawsuit was filed to replace paperless voting machines.
There was also a law passed last year, requiring all Indiana counties to move to paper trail voting systems by 2030.
However, that leaves elections vulnerable for the next decade.
IU's Public Policy Institute says the best things counties can do now is inspect the machines before and after the election.