Gone are the days of lugging big ballot boxes into the back of her car. No more hanging chads. No more counting tiny holes in the ballots. She bids them goodbye and good riddance.

"I can't imagine anyone wanting to go back to the old system," says Lomax after being trained Monday to use Utah's new electronic voting machines.

The touch-screen voting booths make their debut in this Davis County community today. By November, voters in Brigham City will be using them.

If all goes well, other cities around the state will begin incorporating them in future elections.

Meanwhile, all other Utah voters in today's municipal primaries will use traditional methods to cast their ballots.

While Florida's dangling-chad debacle during the 2000 presidential election may have inspired Congress to mandate a change in the way Americans vote, Farmington election judge JaNeil Wilson wonders why they didn't think of it sooner.

"I know more people who came out of the [old] voting booths never quite sure if the hole they punched lined up with the name of the person they voted for," she said. "I don't think this will let you make a mistake."

Studies in Maryland and Georgia - where similar touch-screen systems have been used in past elections - show the machines have high voter approval, according to David Bear, spokesman for Diebold, the company that makes the machines Utah is purchasing for $27 million. The company also makes many of the ATMs used by the banking industry.

"It won't allow you to cast twice in the same race, which was a common complaint with the paper ballots," Bear says.

After the voter is finished, a summary screen appears, giving users an at-a-glance view of the way they voted an even alerts them to categories they may have skipped over.

If voters like what they see, they can push the "Cast My Ballot" button.

Or they may go back in and change their vote.

"The summary screen is an extra step," Bear says. "It's one more opportunity for the voters to ensure that the vote they cast is what they intended."

Davis County Elections Clerk Pat Beckstead says voters still have the option of requesting assistance from one of the election judges if they are uncomfortable with the new technology.

"Anyone who has ever used an ATM can use one of these machines," she says. "But our judges are also ready to help anyone who asks. That hasn't changed."

lorib@sltrib.com

How to use the new electronic machines

* Election judge activates voter card.

* Voter places card in the machine, similar to a bank machine.

* Touch screen appears, allowing voters to select type size and contrast - or sight-impaired voters can choose an audio option, with keypad and headphones.

* Ballot appears and voters touch the name to select their candidate. To de-select a name, touch the screen again and make a new selection.

* A summary of all votes appears after selections are completed.

* Voters select "Cast Ballot" or can change their votes before selecting it.

* Voters return voter card to the election judge.

Election 2005

Polls in municipalities with primaries are open today from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.