To save costs, most municipalities planned to use punch cards or optical scan machines instead of the electronic voting machines. But now with the voucher election, state law requires the use of electronic voting machines.

Municipalities in Salt Lake County budgeted $654,000 for a local election, but a statewide election will cost about $1.1 million, Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen said. Salt Lake County's share of the $1.2 million being sought from the state would be $400,000.

That leaves the county responsible for another $100,000 to open early voting locations in every Senate district in the county. Swensen said she plans to ask the Salt Lake County Council for a budget adjustment later this month to make up for the additional costs.

She said she hopes the Legislature pulls through to make up the difference.

"I don't know that it sounds too promising. They may be willing to do it. Either way, we need to do the election," Swensen said. "It's an unfunded mandate if they don't reimburse it, and the county didn't budget for it."

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