With new voting machines on the way later this year, counties are left to find appropriate storage space for them.

For some, that's going to be a real challenge.

"We've got to find some place or build some place for them," said Lewis County Legislator Patrick F. Wallace, R-Lowville, chairman of the legislative Elections Committee.

If construction is the chosen option, temporary storage space must be secured for at least the next year or two, he said.

Most counties in February ordered handicapped-accessible machines from Sequoia Voting Systems to meet a state requirement that at least one such machine be available at each polling place this fall.

Lewis County is due to receive 24, with the first two or three expected in mid-May and the rest likely in late summer or early fall.

"They will be here in time for the September primary, if we have one," said Elaine McLear, Lewis County Democratic election commissioner.

Most voters will still use lever machines this year, but the general population in 2009 will switch to paper ballots that are read by an electronic scanner.

While lever machines have historically been stored at polling sites, each county's new machines are to be stored at a single, climate-controlled site with adequate security and electricity. A freight elevator will be required if storage is not on the ground floor.

Election commissioners essentially will be caretakers of the machines.

Sequoia is recommending floor space of at least 100-square-feet per machine for set-up and maintenance, although definitive minimum space requirements have not been set.

Lewis County officials had been leaning toward touch-screen voting machines that would require less storage space, but the state had not yet accepted those machines at the ordering deadline.

Lewis County's Board of Elections office is now housed in the basement of the county courthouse. However, county officials are hoping to vacate the building soon — with some offices going into the new courthouse being built out back and others going into temporary office space — to allow for its more rapid renovation.

Once that happens, the elections office probably will never return, although a new site has yet to be determined.

"This building was not built or designed to be a warehouse," said Lewis County Manager David H. Pendergast, noting the lack of a freight elevator or extensive storage space.

And Lewis County is not alone.

"It's every county," said Deborah J. Pahler, St. Lawrence County Republican commissioner. "We don't know where we're putting them."

Uncertainty on exact space needs is also a concern.

"It keeps growing," said Robin M. St. Andrews, St. Lawrence County Democratic commissioner. Her estimate was 2,500 to 3,000 square feet, although at 100-square-feet per voting machine, that would not appear to be adequate to the county's needs. There are 102 election districts in the county, according to the county's Web site.

Jefferson County officials hope that their 68 new machines may be stored in the basement of the county office building in Watertown.

"I don't know that there's going to be a major problem," said County Administrator Robert F. Hagemann III.

When court offices were moved into the new Jefferson County Courthouse several years ago, portions of the old building were converted to storage space with an eye toward future needs, Mr. Hagemann said.

The Board of Elections is on top of the problem, officials say.

"Since I came on last Monday, that's been one of the main priorities," said Jerry O. Eaton, Jefferson County's new Republican commissioner.

The new machines likely will be secured with a card-access system, Mr. Eaton said.

Oswego County also is in a good position, having moved its elections office into a new building — including warehouse space — in January 2007.

"We've certainly been blessed with a facility," said Donald M. Wart, Oswego County Republican commissioner.

While revamping state election procedures has been a long and ever-changing process, it will be worth the time and effort if done correctly the first time, Mr. Wart said.

"This is a pretty precious animal we're protecting," he said.

Times staff writer Corey Fram contributed to this report.