Voting machine upgrades needed in Calif.

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Officials in 39 California counties must make security upgrades to their electronic voting machines in order to use them in next year's primary election.

The Los Angeles Times said Sunday that since California Secretary of State Debra Bowen decided to decertify electronic machines deemed open to hacking, many counties are struggling to make changes in time for the February 2008 presidential primary election.

Such changes include the installation of new electronic voting machines with added security features, an upgrade that could cost counties millions of dollars.

Contra Costa County Registrar Stephen Weir said changing to paper ballots instead of electronic voting is an equally troubling choice for county officials.

"Tens of millions of additional ballots: You don't just go to Kinkos," he said. "The timing is way too tight."

Weir said the new regulations would likely lead primary voting delays in the targeted counties, a chaotic state that could ultimately affect the California's final voting tally.