About 1 in 4 registered voters in the United States live in areas that use electronic voting machines that do not produce a paper backup despite concerns that they are vulnerable to tampering and malfunctions, according to a Reuters analysis.

The lack of a paper trail makes it impossible to independently verify that the aging touch-screen systems are accurate, security experts say, in a year when suspected Russian hackers have penetrated political groups and state voting systems and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has said the election may be "rigged."

Election officials insist the machines are reliable, but security experts say they are riddled with bugs and security holes that can result in votes being recorded incorrectly.