INDIANAPOLIS – Secretary of State Connie Lawson signed off on a slick new marketing campaign with a focus on election security. However, the ads and the Secretary’s comments failed to account for a critical security issue looming over the 2018 election. Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody was perplexed that Lawson, in an effort to reassure Hoosiers about election security, would forget to mention the fact that 60 percent of Indiana counties use voting systems that do not generate a voter verified paper trail.

“Secretary Lawson is ignoring the elephant in the room,” said Zody. “Not mentioning the fact that more than half of Indiana counties cannot verify votes with paper backups is like your mechanic failing to mention bad brakes. Omitting key facts won’t make our elections any safer, it’s just wishful thinking.”

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielson has called the inability to audit election results a, “national security concern”. Secretary Lawson herself has indicated she intends to replace voting systems that do not generate a paper trail…just not until after the 2018 election. Zody believed Lawson needs to assuage Hoosiers and voting experts’ concerns about machines that do not create a paper trail.

“When the top cop at Homeland Security is calling it a national security concern, I think it warrants a response from Indiana’s chief elections officer,” said Zody. “If it’s important enough to justify replacing voting machines, Secretary Lawson should get it done before the election, not after.”

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