Study: 8 States to Use Paperless Voting in 2020

At least eight states are not expected to use any type of paper ballots during the 2020 elections, according to a study by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.

Details of the center’s study, released Tuesday, came in a report by The Hill.

Some states using paperless machines have committed to replacing equipment in 2020, the study noted.

”Consequently, we expect the number of states using paperless equipment as primary systems will drop to no more than eight,” the study said.

But the report said: “Even so, a significant number of voters may not have a paper record of their vote in 2020. Using voter registration and turnout data from the 2016 and 2018 Election Administration and Voting Survey and 2018 voting equipment data from Verified Voting, we estimate that as many as 12% of voters (approximately 16 million voters) will vote on paperless equipment in November 2020. This compares to 20% of voters (27.5 million) in 2016.

The study noted that some counties and towns in Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, and New Jersey will likely use some form of paperless voting in 2020.

It said experts warn paperless voting machines are a security risk because they do not allow officials to confirm electronic voting totals.

“The Brennan Center estimates that compared to 2016, when approximately 27.5 million voters cast their ballots on paperless machines, a little over half, or as many as 16 million, will do so in 2020 — though that number could go even lower with additional funding from Congress,” the study said.

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