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If you’re out and about in the coming weeks you’re likely to eventually walk right into a new voting machine – or at least spot one out of the corner of your eye.

Volunteers for Collier County Supervisor of Elections, Jennifer Edwards, are visiting libraries, grocery stores, banks and churches demonstrating the new voting system.

The new system is a bit of a reversal from typical forms of modernization. The machines are going from electronic push screen to a more manual system that leaves a paper trail.

“It seems like a step backward,” said Mari-Lynn McGregor at a recent demonstration of the machine.

The new machines cost about $6,000 each to replace the touch screen machines which left a recount debacle in 2000 with no paper trail to leave people confident about the final count.

Collier County still owed about $3.2 million on the six-year old touch screen machines and split the $1.2 million expense with the Federal government to purchase the new machines.

That $4.4 million expense will allow every vote to be recounted physically, if necessary, with a paper ballot that falls into a locked drop box.

When going to the polls whether for early voting for the primary beginning August 11, the regular primary beginning August 26 or the general election, Nov. 4, voters will receive a paper ballot from a poll worker upon showing identification.

Voting will take place with pen and paper, filling in the oval with a black or blue pen next to their selection for each candidate or amendment. Many ballots will be double-sided, so voters should look on the back.

Jack Patterson, a volunteer diplomat keeping Islanders informed at demonstrations around Marco, reminded voters what they will be seeing on the ballot.

In the primary election, all will be able to vote for the two open school board seats because it is a non-partisan race. Also, since all the candidates for sheriff are republican, all can vote in that, Patterson said.

Other races in the primary include the District 101 seat in the state legislature, Collier County Supervisor of Elections, for which Jennifer Edwards is running unopposed, tax collector, property appraiser, clerk of courts, two Collier County Board of Commissioners’ seats, including the district 1 seat for which Donna Fiala is running unopposed.

The general election will likely include the offices above as well as president and nine amendments.

The general election may change as municipalities have until August 26 to add an item to the general ballot, said Gary Beauchamp, chief deputy of the supervisor of elections.

Once complete making your choices for all the races, you push your paper ballot through the scanner.

If there is an error such as voting for two different candidates in the same race the machine will indicate an error and allow the voter to select “accept” or “return.”

If the voter selects “accept” the vote in the race which two candidates were selected will not count. Races filled out properly on the same ballot should count, but the machine will not alert you if you accidentally do not vote or fill in an oval for a particular race.

Once voting is complete, results will be tabulated by the scanning machines and sent to the main office over telephone lines.

The elections office is required to keep all of the paper ballots for two years after the election.

On-island demonstrations will be held through Sept. 12 and will allow people to register to vote while practicing on the new machines. Patterson and other diplomats will be at Bank of America, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday; Marco Community Bank, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Friday; Marco Island Library, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sunday.

More information about voting is available on the Collier County Supervisor of Elections Web site www.CollierVotes.com.

To confirm where to vote visit the above site and enter your address or visit the City of Marco Island’s Web site www.cityofmarcoisland.com.