Votes fit to print

In a nation dominated by election fraud and conspiracy claims by President Donald Trump, it’s interesting that MAGA-loving Louisiana remains the only state still voting on paperless machines statewide. The cutting-edge fix in a world powered by technology and innovation? Paper.

Why it matters: East Baton Rouge voters will cast their Nov. 3 ballots on machines with no paper trail, meaning your vote is whatever the machine says it is. In a tight race, a recount asks the machine the same question twice, and the machine isn’t about to contradict itself.

404 error: Louisiana has tried twice to replace its new-school, old-school machines and flopped both times.

• In 2018, the state contracted for machines with a paper trail—then a rival vendor challenged the bidding, and the deal fell apart.
• In 2021, the state shelved round two after vendors challenged that process, too.
• Secretary of State Nancy Landry’s office aimed to buy a system by the end of 2025, but that deadline came—and went.

What’s next: The secretary of state’s office put out an invitation to negotiate Oct. 2, with a winner expected by the end of the year.

• The winning machines must keep a paper record of every ballot cast, a requirement that has been state law since 2021.
• Some parishes will get new machines in 2027, with the biggest parishes expected to go first (the state hasn’t said which), and a full switch will take two to three years.
• The tab is $100M, and $75M of it is already banked.
• The old machines are so far gone that the state cannibalizes parts from broken ones, since nobody makes replacements.

What he said: Louisiana is “the dinosaur of American elections,” J. Alex Halderman, a University of Michigan computer scientist, tells Axios.

The bottom line: Paper is coming to Louisiana, and the only thing left to settle is whether voters mark it with a pen or print it off a touchscreen. Such is life in our modern times.