State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Virginia scraps touch-screen voting machines as election for governor looms.

The Washington Post: RICHMOND — Concerned about potential hacking two months away from the state’s closely watched gubernatorial election, Virginia’s state Board of Elections voted Friday to replace any touchscreen voting machines before November’s elections.

The three-member board voted unanimously to decertify Direct Recording Electronic voting machines, acting partly out of concern that their security had been compromised at DefCon, an annual hack-a-thon held in July in Las Vegas. The machines do not produce a paper trail, which the department described as an important security feature.

The machines are in use in 22 localities, including Falls Church. Seven of the jurisdictions are already in the process of replacing them - Lee County, Rappahannock County, Russell County and the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Poquoson and Martinsville. Another three have said they intend to get new machines.

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