Annie O'Neill, Post-Gazette photos
	Virginia Mullin of ES&S (Electronic Systems & Software) of Omaha, Nebraska shows the media yesterday how a new Allegheny County electronic voting booth works. MORE COVERAGE 2006 Voters Guide Graphic: A closer look at electronic voting What's open, closed for today's primary election day Pittsburgh schools: Today's not a holiday! Allegheny County's interactive voting tutorials, frequently asked questions Pa. Dept. of State Guide to new voting devices statewide CHAT ONLINE Join the PG's Brian O'Neill for a post-election online chat about the primary and legislative payraises, tomorrow, from noon to 1 p.m. Click here as early as a half-hour before the session to log-in and post early questions.
	Allegheny County voting machine coordinator Larry Szurley walks by a thousand old voting machines stored in a North Side warehouse yesterday. The machines had been in use since 1965.

Today, 62 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties will make transitions to new voting technologies. It's an event that Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato last week called "historic."

Indeed, the normally quiet primary election, which rarely attracts more than a quarter of registered voters, is presenting an enormous logistical challenge for state and local officials as they try to comply with the federal Help America Vote Act, a law passed in the aftermath of Florida's problematic 2000 presidential vote.

But to some observers, this is just a rehearsal for a much larger event: the November election, when U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, a Republican, and Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, will face fiercely competitive re-election battles.

Will the new machines -- touch-screen units resembling bank ATMs and optical scanners that read fill-in-the-bubble ballots -- be able to withstand withering scrutiny? And will thousands of election workers be ready to operate the equipment and guide voters?

Although many new voting systems have performed without incident in other states, some haven't. During the Illinois primary in March, officials took more than a week to count votes after replacing punch-card machines.

"I think Pennsylvania is going to give us a preview of how things can go when it really matters," said Dan Seligson, editor of electionline.org, a nonpartisan Web site that tracks election reform efforts nationwide.

Mr. Seligson had plans to be in Allegheny County as a poll watcher during the primary. He said some problems are inevitable with any rollout of new election equipment, a sentiment echoed by local officials.

It's unlikely that those problems will lead to a crisis in an election with only two competitive statewide races.

November, however, could be a different story, especially if a few errant machines cast doubts on the outcome of a U.S. Senate race and, potentially, the balance of political power in Washington.

"Now we're talking crisis. We're talking meltdown," Mr. Seligson said.

The general election will be a major national test, when thousands of counties deploy their new, or relatively new, voting systems on the same day.

By November, nearly 82 million voters will have seen changes in election equipment over a six-year period, according to a February study released by Election Data Services, a consulting firm.

About half of the changes will have been put in place since the 2004 presidential election.

Almost every state has addressed the machinery requirements of the federal voting law, known as HAVA, although the process saw delays at each level, from the nation's capital to county seats.

In Pennsylvania, officials didn't start a thorough examination and certification process until last year, and many counties only selected their machines and launched huge educational and training campaigns in the last few months.

That could be a problem, said Kimball Brace, president of Election Data Services, which specializes in election administration.

"Usually, we recommend that you upgrade at least six months before an election," he said.

In Allegheny County, officials settled on a touch-screen machine, Election Systems & Software's iVotronic, last month. Their preferred choice faced an uncertain future in the state's certification process.

Still, Pennsylvania Elections Commissioner Harry VanSickle said counties thus far have been "fantastic" in preparing for the primary.

ES&S, a Nebraska company, is the most popular vendor. The majority of Western Pennsylvania counties -- including Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Cambria, Greene and Westmoreland -- are using the iVotronic.

Armstrong, Clarion, Somerset and Washington counties are using the AccuVote-TSX, built by Diebold Election Systems of North Canton, Ohio. In Fayette County, voters will cast their choices on the Hart InterCivic eSlate.

Each county will have its own team of troubleshooters ready to head to polling sites that encounter difficulties.

Allegheny County will have more than 250 troubleshooters for its 1,314 polling sites, including 57 specialists with advanced expertise on the iVotronic.

The county won't receive its full order of 4,700 machines until later this year. During today's election, voters can use optical scan ballots -- paper ballots that are filled out and run through a scanner -- if they face long lines at their polling places.

Since county officials have no way of knowing how many voters will use the paper ballots, the process for releasing results could take longer than usual.

Also, technical problems could slow counting. Last week, Mr. Onorato warned of "hiccups" as tens of thousands of voters and poll workers make the switch from lever machines.

"You're going to have issues. It's the first time in 40 years that we're using new machines," he said. But "at the end of the day, the machines are going to produce an accurate and secure vote."

Several organizations, both locally and nationally, have been highly critical of computerized voting and they want election officials to purchase systems, like optical scanners, that use some form of paper.

"It's about reliability in capturing and recording your vote," said Pamela Smith, nationwide coordinator for California-based Verified Voting.

More than 30 states have legislation requiring systems with paper trails that voters can use to check their choices. Two bills that would require paper in Pennsylvania are currently before the state Legislature.