Less than a month to the November midterm elections, 30 researchers, activists and scientists have signed a letter warning states against the use of integrated cellular modems on the basis that these types of wireless voting machines are vulnerable to hacking. The voting machines in question had been advertised as a tool to provide quick elections results, but have now been revealed to be easily tampered with by remote actors using classic hacking tools.

Out of the 50 states in the U.S., only four (Florida, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin) are currently using these integrated cellular modems in their voting machines. According to Sarah Revell,  Florida’s Department of State spokesman, “the voting machines are not connected to the internet.” In an email sent to McClatchy, Revell added that “it is important to note that when transmitting election data everything is encrypted and authenticated.”

But this contention was immediately contradicted by voting machine researchers. According to the letter signed by 30 experts today, “cellular networks increasingly overlap with the internet and open avenues for hackers to interfere with unofficial early results even when there are paper ballots that can be tallied for a slower official count. They say interfering with unofficial early results, even when corrected later, could increase mistrust among voters and add uncertainty immediately after elections conclude”.

It is not yet certain as to the number of vulnerable wireless voting machines that will be used during the midterm elections but, according to an official with the Election Assistance Commission, more than 1,000 cellular machines have been installed in different parts of the country and each state decides separately (and without coordination) what type of system the voting machines use.

In order to avoid any foreign body from meddling in the elections, officials say they want to provide security, accuracy and convenience for voters while also being able to act fast in announcing the results. So far spokespeople for the states of Wisconsin, Illinois and Florida have each made statements to soothe voter fears of foreign manipulation. Word on whether the machines in question will be used, however, has yet to be handed down to the people.

See more at Democracy Chronicles voting machines archive!