In speaking to a gathering of county commissioners from across the state at Ogden's Eccles Conference Center Friday, Lt. Gov. Gayle McKeachnie, whose office is leading the charge, noted the problems and said he's proceeding cautiously.

"We're rushing along like a herd of turtles," he said. "It's not a mad dash."

But a Utah selection committee charged with choosing the type of voting machine to be used here began meeting only a few months ago, and at one point was given an early May deadline to release a request for proposals from manufacturers. Amy Naccarato, state elections officer, anticipates a decision on the type of machine to be used by next fall.

That's too soon, Swensen said. A Georgia selection committee took a full year to do the same thing. Many Utah committee members "haven't even seen the machines yet. . . . We should wait until after the November election to see how things go with the states that are using them. We'll still have plenty of time" to get things in place by 2006.

County commissioners responding to McKeachnie's remarks expressed concerns about the millions of dollars required to make the switch. The federal government is providing about $25 million for Utah (billions nationwide) to switch to the new system, but even that won't be enough to cover costs. Commissioners worried about the fact that the machines become obsolete in eight to 10 years and will need to be replaced — this time with no federal financial help. Replacement will likely cost less, but still run into the millions.

Counties will be on their own to foot the bill next go-round, McKeachnie said.

Several county officials are beginning to wonder out loud why Utah is doing this in the first place, since punch-card systems have been uniformly reliable here. Swensen said Florida's problems could have been avoided simply by cleaning out the chad receptacles, a routine maintenance item.

Utah can opt out of the program, though in doing so would give up several million in federal dollars and still have to comply with new regulations, including installing a handicapped-accessible machine in each polling place. What's more, Naccarato said, punch cards for the old-fashioned voting machines soon may not be available.

"There are a lot of reasons for keeping (the punch-card system), but it may not be cost-effective or even possible in the future," she said.

"It seems a foregone conclusion," Davis County Commissioner Dannie McConkie said. "It's just plain going to happen, folks."

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Contributing: Associated Press

E-mail: aedwards@desnews.com