House restores 2024 deadline for counties to install paper backups on voting machines

The Indiana House has reversed course, restoring language in a bill that will move up the deadline for counties to install a vital election security measure

Current law requires counties to have paper backup systems for their electronic voting machines by 2030. A bill this session, HB 1116, would move that date up to July 2024.

But the House Ways and Means committee eliminated that change because it costs money – about $12 million.

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Then, on the House floor Thursday, Ways and Means Chair Tim Brown (R-Crawfordsville) put the July 2024 deadline back into the bill.

“We heard complaints about this bill as we’re going through the process,” Brown said. “And we listened.”

But the bill doesn’t include any money to help counties with the cost of adding the paper backups. And House Republicans rejected an attempt by Democrats to supply that funding.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.