Aging U.S. Voting Equipment Needs Billions and Years to Replace

America’s voting systems are aging at an alarming rate, and a new report warns that without a major infusion of federal funding, it could take decades and billions of dollars to bring them up to modern security standards. By the next presidential election, the average age of voting equipment in the United States will reach 9.3 years if not replaced, according to research by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) shared exclusively with NPR ahead of its release on Friday.

The Scope of the Problem

The BPC report estimates that replacing the entire country’s voting systems with equipment certified to the latest federal standards — the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines 2.0 (VVSG 2.0) — would cost roughly $2.71 billion. Without significant congressional funding, the report warns it could be the 2040s before VVSG 2.0-certified equipment is ubiquitous in American elections.

“It’s just really slow to make change in the elections industry,” said Will Adler, an elections expert at the Bipartisan Policy Center who co-wrote the report, as quoted by NPR.

The challenge is compounded by America’s decentralized election system. States and local governments purchase their own equipment on their own budget timelines, creating wide disparities in equipment age across the country. While some states like Georgia have relatively new machines, others are operating equipment that is decades past its expected lifespan.

Louisiana: A Case Study in Crisis

Louisiana offers the starkest example of the nationwide problem. The state is using voting machines that are 30 to 35 years old — so old that many Gen Z and millennial voters cast primary ballots this month using machines older than they were.

“Replacement parts are no longer manufactured,” Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry told a state Senate committee earlier this year, as reported by WAFB. “Simply put, the [election] system has reached the end of its life cycle.”

Catherine Newsome, Landry’s top assistant, described the dire situation in more detail: “They are really, really close to end of life. We don’t have any extra parts, we can’t order more parts, and so we have to cannibalize our machines if one breaks down.”

Louisiana is pursuing a $100 million voting system overhaul, with $75 million already in its voting technology fund. Six certified vendors are under consideration, and officials expect to choose one by the end of 2026. The state currently ranks fourth in the nation for voter integrity according to The Heritage Foundation, but Landry has pledged to reach number one.

The Funding Gap

The central finding of the BPC report is that the primary obstacle is funding, not technology. The $2.71 billion price tag for nationwide replacement is substantial but historically precedented — after the contested 2000 presidential election, Congress allocated more than $3 billion for election infrastructure through the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002.

However, recent funding has declined sharply. Over the past two years combined, Congress appropriated just $60 million to support elections, compared to more than $800 million leading up to 2020, according to NPR’s reporting.

“So that’s a long time,” Adler said. “But the good news is that since funding is the main obstacle, if Congress wanted to speed up that transition … it could be much faster.”

New Standards, New Opportunities

The VVSG 2.0 standards, adopted unanimously by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) in February 2021, represent the most significant update to federal voting technology standards since 2005. They include mandatory auditable paper records, enhanced cybersecurity protections, and improved accessibility features.

On July 10, 2025, the EAC announced the first voting system certified to VVSG 2.0 — Hart InterCivic’s Verity Vanguard 1.0. The EAC Commissioners called it “a major milestone in the EAC’s commitment to advancing the next generation of voting systems.”

However, several steps remain before voters see these systems: state-level testing and certification, funding, procurement planning, staff training, and public testing. The EAC now only accepts new certification applications to VVSG 2.0.

Political Context and the Road Ahead

President Trump’s March 2025 executive order on election integrity put a spotlight on voting equipment standards, noting the VVSG 2.0 guidelines and instructing the EAC to work on revisions including addressing barcode and QR code use on ballots. The order adds a layer of political complexity to the technical challenges of equipment replacement.

Adler emphasized the tangible benefits of upgrading: “Just think about all the benefits you get when you get a new phone or you get a new computer; it runs faster, it’s easier to use, it’s more secure. So when you upgrade new voting equipment, voters feel those benefits.”

What’s at Stake

Old voting equipment poses multiple risks: security vulnerabilities from outdated software, mechanical failures on Election Day that can fuel misinformation, difficulty finding replacement parts, and reduced voter confidence. As the Brennan Center for Justice has noted, “small technical failures with voting equipment can lead to viral misinformation about the trustworthiness in elections.”

With the 2026 midterm elections approaching and the 2028 presidential cycle on the horizon, the question is whether Congress will treat voting equipment funding as the urgent national priority that election experts say it is — or whether America’s aging machines will continue to be held together with spare parts and ingenuity.

As Adler put it: “If Congress wanted to speed up that transition … it could be much faster.” The question is whether it will.