The new machines scan ballots that are marked by voters using special pens and paper. Voters fill in circles next to the names of the candidates they are voting for, then feed the ballots into the machine, which scans them and records the votes — much like scanning machines used by schools for testing. Every vote is counted by the machine, and also has a paper backup in case of technical failure.

The ballot-marking devices work in much the same way as the machines the county purchased in 2008: They have multiple input methods to allow voters with a range of disabilities to mark their ballots. The ballots are then scanned and recorded by the ballot-reading machines.

The county, according to DeGrace, must fund 5 percent of the approximate $10 million cost of the machines. However, he added, he expects the cost to the county to approach $5 million, including training, public awareness campaigns, technicians and additional personnel that may need to be hired.

“We think the overall cost will be in that ballpark,” DeGrace said. “It’s a lot of money. Hopefully it won’t be, but we’re anticipating the worst.”

The new machines come less than two years after the county purchased other ADA-complaint ballot-marking devices, also with federal grant money, from Sequoia/Dominion. (Sequoia, an American company, partnered with the Canadian company Dominion to produce them.) Those machines were plagued with problems that election officials had to solve before they could be used. Election Systems & Software will purchase the old machines from the county to help offset the cost of the new ones.

In 2008, according to Biamonte, Sequoia broke off its partnership with Dominion, leaving the fledgling Canadian company to produce its own machines. One of the reasons the county opted to go with the ES&S machines, Biamonte said, is that they are made by an American company with a proven track record.

Election officials say they are worried about confusion at the polls and longer lines the new machines could create on Election Day. The efficiency of the new devices is also a concern.