SoS: $7.5M Grant Not Enough To Replace Voting Machines

Monday, August 27, 2018 at 8:08 AM

By Mike Perleberg @mikedup84

Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson says a federal grant is not enough money to change the machines.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) - Federal funding to improve election security in Indiana will not be used to update voting machines.

Indiana received a failing grade in an assessment of election security done by the Center for American Progress. One of the reasons for the bad score was that the voting machines do not include voter-verifiable paper ballots.

Secretary of State Connie Lawson says the $7.5 million in federal funding plus the five percent state match of the grant is not adequate to change the machines.

Indiana has been criticized for not having voter-verifiable paper ballots used in every county, but it's estimated to cost up to $35 million to replace the state’s voting machines.

Last week, Lawson announced a public awareness campaign to tell Hoosiers about election integrity and cybersecurity efforts surrounding the state's election infrastructure.

In an email following Lawson's announcement, Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody chided Lawson for being more focused on talking about election security than taking steps to address a clear vulnerability.

“TV spots and radio ads don’t secure elections, actions do,” said Zody. “Secretary Lawson has had nearly two years – and two legislative sessions - to find the money to replace vulnerable voting machines and we’re still nowhere. This is all the more reason why we need balance at the Indiana Statehouse – the GOP is dropping the ball and not getting the job done for Hoosiers.”