Voters really, really like the new touch-screen voting machines, according to the results of an exit poll taken during last week's primary elections.

The June 27 primary marked the first time most voters in the state used the machines, and anecdotal reports indicated that the balloting went smoothly.

The exit poll, conducted by Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, reported that voters in Utah's 3rd Congressional District considered the machines easy to use and an improvement over punchcard voting.

Polled voters also expressed confidence that the machines are reliable and that their votes would be counted accurately. Pollsters also found that older voters were just as likely as younger voters to take a shine to the machines.

"Overwhelmingly, voters are very positive about the new equipment," said Quin Monson, an assistant professor of political science at BYU.

Still, he noted, "It's one election. It's a low-turnout election. The system wasn't stressed in a way that it might be in a high-turnout election."

Volunteers at 30 polling places in the 3rd District, which includes most of Utah County, interviewed 1,483 voters last week about the voting machines and attitudes toward congressional candidates, immigration reform and the election system.

Of those who participated in the poll, 96.8 percent said they had "no problem" using the voting machines, and 88.4 percent either strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that they were easy to use.

When compared to punchcard voting, 95 percent of respondents said touchscreens are much better or somewhat better.

(In a side note, about 20 percent of voters ages 18 to 24 said they'd never used a punchcard system.) Also, 97 percent said they were very confident or somewhat confident that their ballot would be counted accurately.

That's in line with other surveys of voter attitudes toward the new machines.

BYU helped with a similar survey in Cleveland in May, Monson said, where officials had more problems with their primary election. Voters still gave the electronic voting machines high marks, he said.

University of Utah political scientist Thad Hall said most people who use the machines are comfortable with them.

"There've been studies done ... that show that people like electronic voting. It also tends to be a little more accurate," Hall said. "The machines that Utah has purchased actually rate very high in their usability."

Of course, voting machines must produce a reliable vote count as well as be easy to use, and electronic voting critics have tried for some time to make the case that these machines -- in particular, the Diebold machines Utah uses -- are vulnerable to hacking and vote-rigging.

As a security measure, Utah requires electronic voting machines to offer a printout that voters verify before submitting ballots. The office of Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert has announced that November's general election will include requirements to randomly compare some portion of the paper ballots against the electronic vote count to check for discrepancies.

The BYU survey also found no correlation between a voter's age and his or her attitude toward electronic voting, although older voters were more likely to have problems or ask for help.

"Only a few had problems. To the extent that people did have problems, they were all older voters," Monson said.

About 8 percent of voters older than 55 reported having some kind of problem using the machines. Almost no voters younger than 55 reported a problem.

Among respondents older than 65, a majority asked for and received help using the machines, as did 41 percent of those aged 55 to 64. Only about 20 percent of those ages 18 to 54 said they asked for assistance.

Some results from an exit poll conducted by Brigham Young University during the June 27 primary vote:

Q: The touchscreen voting machines were easy to use.

Strongly agree: 80.4 percent

Somewhat agree: 8 percent

Neither: 1.7 percent

Somewhat disagree: 1.5 percent

Strongly disagree: 8.4 percent

Q: Touchscreen voting machines are reliable.

Strongly agree: 49.9 percent

Somewhat agree: 17.7 percent

Neither: 21 percent

Somewhat disagree: 4 percent

Strongly disagree: 7.4 percent

Q: Are you confident your ballot will be counted accurately in this electionfi

Very confident: 78.4 percent

Somewhat confident: 18.7 percent

Not too confident: 2 percent

Not at all confident: .9 percent

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B10.