DENVER -- It may be a step backwards in technology but lawmakers say it's the only way to make sure your vote really counts.

Gov. Bill Ritter and state legislative leaders said voters should be able to cast paper ballots in person in this year's elections after most of the state's electronic voting equipment was decertified.

Under a plan announced Wednesday, voters in the primary as well the November presidential election would be able to cast their ballots in polling places on Election Day or vote through early voting and by mail.

That's the opposite of what a majority of county election officials had asked for, citing problems with the machines and concerns about a computerized voter registration database. County clerks had asked for an election conducted mostly by mail.

But the bipartisan group of lawmakers agreed that a traditional election at polling places was the best way to ensure that everyone who wants to vote is able to do so.

"Paper ballots are a tried-and-true election method that has worked for decades. They ensure a verifiable paper trail and minimize the possibility of technology failures that have caused Election Day problems in the past," Ritter said, in support of the legislation. "Our democracy depends not only on the people's ability to vote, but also on their confidence that every vote counts."

Under either plan, counties would still have to make at least one electronic voting terminal available at every polling place or ballot drop-off location for handicapped voters and anyone else who wants to use it on Election Day.

Ritter said trying to create a statewide mail-in system in a presidential election year would be like "building an airplane in the air."

The database that clerks are concerned about has been tested in only nine of Colorado's 64 counties, in smaller elections.

Ritter said printouts of all the voters who are eligible to vote in a certain precinct will be printed out for the November election so poll workers won't have to go online to retrieve records on Election Day.

"Given the constraints of the decertifications, this is the best solution we can craft," said Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial, one of the sponsors of the legislation that will have to be approved by the full Legislature.

"Sometimes, the old-fashioned way is the best way," said Rep. Alice Madden, D-Boulder. "And since my kids tell me that retro style is in again, I think we're being very trendy. Let us not forget that our forefathers and foremothers fought for the right to vote. We should always be grateful for that right and exercise that right."

Secretary of State Mike Coffman, who didn't attend the announcement, said he supported the clerks' call for a mail election. With a record turnout expected, he told lawmakers earlier in the day that polling places have "more points of failure" than a mail election.

In a written statement after Ritter's announcement, Coffman said the decision rests with the governor and Legislature.

"Whatever the system, whether it's a mail ballot election or paper ballots at the polls, I will work with the county clerks to make sure we are prepared for it and that it's the best election in can possibly be," Coffman said.

In a letter sent to lawmakers Wednesday, groups including Colorado Common Cause, the Latina Initiative and People for the American Way urged lawmakers to allow voters to vote in person if they want to.

The groups said people who have moved frequently, don't have a permanent address and haven't voted by mail before could be left out of an all-mail election.

"This burden will fall hardest on minority, low-income and young voters," they wrote.

Jenny Flanagan, executive director of Colorado Common Cause, said a mail-in election may be easier for the clerks to run, but she said any system will have problems.

Flanagan said clerks will have a difficult time finding polling places to handle the expected turnout in voters. She suggested schools could close on Election Day to make it easier for them to serve as polling places, and more people could be urged to serve as poll workers.

The proposal will most likely pass through the Legislature, given the bipartisan support, but it will need to be fast-tracked. It will likely be approved within two weeks to allow county clerks the time to prepare for the August primary, 7NEWS reported.

"The 2008 elections are among the most important of our lifetime. While the outcome of these elections is still in doubt, the rules should not be," said Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff. "Democrats and Republicans may duke it out on the campaign trail, but we don't need to fight about the fairness of our elections."

"It's not often that we are faced with such a significant problem, and yet we are able to solve that problem -- quickly, with agreement from across the aisle, in both chambers, from two branches of government, and with input from the county clerks and many, many others. This solution may not please everyone, but I strongly believe that we have done the best job possible in remedying the problem, and in averting a potential disaster in democracy," Madden said.