Wichita ? Paper ballots, still used in about one-fifth of Kansas counties, are on their way out.

Electronic voting machines will have to be ready for use at all 2,200 Kansas polling places by 2006 because of a federal law requiring that the handicapped have a way to vote without any assistance.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, quite frankly,” said Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh.

Sedgwick County has been using electronic voting machines for the last decade, but about a quarter of the 850 machines will be replaced, making it easier for voters with disabilities to cast ballots.

County Election Commissioner Bill Gale said the new machines likely will be sleeker, smaller, laptop-like units with an audio function.

The federal government will pay for most of the new machines, with the state pitching in 3 percent and counties paying for 2 percent, Thornburgh said.

Gale said Sedgwick County may consider paying to replace all of its aging machines at the same time. But with voting machines selling for about $5,000 each, it’s unclear whether that will be possible.

Voting security is among the emerging concerns as the country moves to all-electronic voting. Thornburgh said the state will start researching that this month.

The secretary of state’s office is assembling a team, including computer experts and election officials, to develop a request for proposals for new machines. The request to vendors will go out in the spring, Thornburgh said, and the state will consider buying about 1,500 machines.

Thornburgh said one factor in choosing new machines will be how they balance technology and security. The answer might be machines that print a receipt that voters can use for verification.

Voting machines now in use in Kansas are not linked electronically to county election offices. Election workers must deliver voting results in person, which protects against hacking or loss of information due to system failure.

The machine used by Sedgwick County has a roll of paper that tracks votes cast.

“Should something happen to a machine — should it decide to take an early day off on Election Day — nothing’s lost,” Mathis said.

Gale said that to ensure privacy, the voting machines’ returns are printed out of order. That paper record can be used as a backup if the machine’s cartridge, used to tally votes, fails to operate.