Video: Just How Vulnerable Are Voting Machines?

As the 2016 election approaches, a series of hacks, including one targeting the Democratic National Committee, have raised questions about the security of our voting system, particularly electronic voting machines.

While no evidence of direct interference has been found, research says voting machines are extremely vulnerable. Most of the machines run Windows XP, but Microsoft has not released any security patches since April 2014.

Vulnerabilities to malware or well-timed denial-of-service attacks could change votes or prevent people from voting altogether. The commonwealth of Virginia has even decertified thousands of voting machines based on how vulnerable they were to digital tampering.

This election about 75 percent of the country will vote on paper ballots. Voting machines have always been this hackable, and so far we've held elections without occurrence. But even suspicions of hacked voting machines are enough to cast doubt upon an election.

To learn more, watch actor Zachary Quinto, who appears in a new Edward Snowden biopic, explain in the video below from Wired: