On May 1, the Election Assistance Commission approved using federal dollars to help states replace vote-counting machines that don’t leave a paper trail. The federal 2002 act called “Help America Vote Act” authorized federal money to the states to replace punchcard vote systems and old-fashioned mechanical voting machines. Until the EAC’s vote, it had not been clear if states could also use this money to replace electronic vote-counting machines that don’t leave a paper trail. The decision had been sought by the state of Florida. The EAC’s action makes it more likely that the Florida legislature will now pass the bill outlawing paperless machines.