New voting machines are coming to Franklin County next year, offering voters a hybrid system of electronic and paper ballots.

Officials say the new equipment is more secure, user-friendly and efficient. It also will provide better services to voters with disabilities, with customization options for audio ballots and font sizes, they said.

>>Video: New Franklin County voting machines

The Franklin County Board of Elections approved the more than $12 million purchase Tuesday from the nation's largest voting machine manufacturer, Election Systems & Software, or ES&S, based in Omaha, Nebraska. The vote came after months of attending demonstrations, hosting "mock elections" and soliciting feedback from stakeholders, including the League of Women Voters and advocates for seniors and people with disabilities.

"The great thing about the hybrid approach is, people who want to use electronic voting can do that, and people who want to use paper can do that, too," said David Payne, deputy director of the elections board.

Franklin County received about $10 million from the state to buy the machines from one of five possible vendors as part of a state law that disbursed funds to each county based on its population. The county will chip in $2 million to buy equipment not covered by the state funds.

Most of the machines will be delivered in time for the primary election in May 2019, and all will be ready for the 2020 presidential election, elections board Director Ed Leonard said.

The 3,276 touch-screen machines will replace the 4,700 12-year-old units Franklin County currently uses, also purchased from ES&S. The county is buying fewer machines because early voting is more popular, and it's expected that many voters will opt for paper ballots, which are scanned by a single machine, Leonard said.

The new machines are expected to have a lifespan of at least 15 years, ES&S regional sales manager Craig Seibert said. It's expected that their software will simplify the process of counting and certifying ballots.

The contract should be completed by mid- to late December.

In the meantime, county officials will begin updating instruction manuals, training poll workers and sharing information about the new equipment and its features, they said.

Sample machines for demonstrations already have been set up at the elections board offices on Morse Road on the North Side.

"We want to make sure as many people as possible know about the new system and have confidence in it before they walk into the voting booth," Leonard said.

awidmanneese@dispatch.com

@AlissaWidman