That's the new projected price tag for replacing Ohio's touch-screen voting machines with optically scanned paper ballots, as Brunner wants to do if funding is available.

The initial estimate late last year was $31 million, but more equipment is needed after a plan to create vote centers for multiple precincts was put on hold, Brunner said yesterday. Other adjustments also may be made, she said.

"I think what happens on Tuesday is going to play a big role in the thought process of the legislature about what they want to do for November," Brunner said.

Given intense interest in the races and more new voters expected, Brunner estimated that 52 percent of the state's 7.9 million registered voters will cast ballots. That's counting both Election Day voting and early absentee balloting.

The forecast of a high turnout stems from the competitive Democratic presidential race between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Also, the GOP primary in Ohio could give Sen. John McCain the delegates he needs to mathematically secure the nomination, Brunner said. She also expects that some Republicans will "cross over" and vote in the Democratic race.

Still, a 52 percent turnout would mean that even if every registered Democrat and Republican voted, more than a quarter of all unaffiliated voters also would have to cast a ballot.

In the presidential primaries of 1996, 2000 and 2004, only about one-third of registered voters in Ohio cast ballots.

"I think that the interest is so great in this election, and because of the particular candidates involved, we're seeing people who've never voted in primaries before who are voting," Brunner said in a news conference yesterday with Attorney General Marc Dann to discuss the state's preparation for the election.

Dann said he will have 25 lawyers from his office positioned across the state to file lawsuits quickly in any courthouse if needed -- to keep polls open late if problems delay voting, for example. He will supervise the operation from Cleveland.

The League of Women Voters of Ohio and Election Protection are establishing a toll-free hot line to answer voter questions and respond to any problems Tuesday. That number is 1-866-687-8683.

Dann said 64 agents from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification & Investigation with expertise in computer forensics will be on call.

Brunner has ordered that all counties using touch-screen devices carefully track how machines are handled during the election. That is in response to concern raised in a study she commissioned that concluded the machines have security flaws.

She also ordered all 53 of Ohio's 88 counties using the machines to make paper ballots available at the polls for voters who want one. Brunner said she plans to ask for a paper ballot because she's more comfortable with it.

Brunner acknowledged that Licking County and some other counties still allow "sleepovers": having poll workers take equipment home to take to polls on Election Day. That practice is being stopped for future elections, she said.

Dispatch reporter James Nash contributed to this story.

mniquette@dispatch.com