SALT LAKE CITY -- Streamlining the elections process with electronic voting turned out to be more expensive than first thought.

A month after the general election, officials are still tallying the costs of high-tech voting.

"I'm not sure any of us realized how much it is going to cost to own and operate this system," said Michael Cragun, elections director for the Lieutenant Governor's Office.

Many voters in next year's local elections could be looking at a paper ballot again in November. That isn't an option in Utah's bigger cities, where there are too many voters to make hand-counting the ballots feasible.

So politicians are searching for the most cost-effective way to keep up with the costs of electronic voting.

Cragun will meet Tuesday with county clerks and city recorders to discuss their options. City leaders have heard rumors they may have to triple their election budget if they go with the touch-screen machines.

Lieutenant Gov. Gary Herbert was opposed to a federal mandate to revamp the election process, but his lawyers couldn't find any loopholes to keep Utah out of it.

Herbert signed a contract with Texas-based Diebold Election Systems for $24.5 million. A federal grant paid the cost, which covered about 3,000 voting machines and the technical support to run the elections in 2006 and 2008.

But the unexpected costs have been accumulating.

"We are not sure everyone understood what happened when they flicked that first domino over," Cragun said.

Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen said she had to double the pay for poll workers because of training costs. She said it costs $12,000 per month to store the machines and the electronic equipment to run them cost an extra $138,000 this year.

And more machines are expected to be needed for 2008, when voter turnout will increase for the presidential election.

Herbert's office is asking the state Legislature for the money extend the Diebold contract to 2015. They also want $3.4 million for the 2008 presidential primary and $1.5 million for a special election just in case Congress gives Utah a fourth congressional seat.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D3.