Shari Brewer elections bureau director works at the office in the Butler County Government center on Friday August 26, 2016.

While the 535 voting machines used in county elections since 2006 cannot be hacked, they can lose calibration and are nearing the end of their life span.

Shari Brewer, the director of the county elections bureau, said because neither the electronic voting machines nor the system used to process the votes are connected to the Internet, they cannot be hacked by nefarious individuals looking to manipulate an election.

The only problem Brewer has seen with the machines is their transportation to the polls after being very carefully calibrated ahead of the election.

“In transport, the machines get knocked around and they'll sometimes get knocked out of calibration,” Brewer said.

In last year's Presidential election, seven voting machines were incorrectly calibrated but no incorrect votes were recorded.

The current voting machines were purchased by the county for $1.6 million in early 2006 and according to the vendor would last from 10 to 15 years.

She said the county commissioners are currently entertaining presentations by various vendors to get a jump on the process of buying new machines and do so at the lowest possible cost.

“We want to take our time and do it right,” she said.

Read the full story in Wednesday's Butler Eagle.