DELAND-Diabetes robbed Wendy Wilson of vision. But technology such as a "talking laptop" and other devices help the virtually blind DeLand resident maintain her independence at home and at work.

But when it comes to voting, Wilson and others with visual disabilities in many parts of metro Orlando have to rely on others, sometimes total strangers, to mark their ballots-a situation some say is a demeaning invasion of privacy.

"It makes you feel like you're 5 years old again if you can't do it yourself," said Wilson, 49.

Elections officials in Central Florida are exploring new voting machines aimed at giving people with visual disabilities or other physical limitations the ability to vote independently and secretly.

In Volusia, for example, Elections Supervisor Deanie Lowe will ask the County Council on Thursday for permission to spend nearly $1 million to purchase 194 AutoMARK voting machines if they are certified for use in Florida. Lowe received a quote of nearly $5,000 per machine.

Even if the purchase is approved and the machines certified, time constraints and other factors likely will mean the machines won't be in widespread use during the Nov. 2 presidential election.

Meanwhile, supervisors for Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties are planning to gather at Osceola's main elections office in Kissimmee on Wednesday for a demonstration of the machine, which is getting a lot of attention largely because it is compatible with the optical-scanning voting machines used in those counties.

In Polk County, which also uses optical scanners, Elections Supervisor Lori Edwards said she has an "active interest" in the new machines, which she already has seen demonstrated.

The devices also are generating interest because officials nationwide face a Jan. 1, 2006, deadline to have at least one voting machine for the disabled in each polling location, as required by the Help America Vote Act, which became law in 2002.

The machine is going through federal and state certification.

If it passes the certification process, AutoMARK would join other voting machines in Florida that are accessible to the disabled. Those devices are the touch-screen systems used in Lake and 14 other counties, where about half of the state's registered voters live.

AutoMARK is different because it doesn't record votes electronically-as the touch-screen machines do-but marks the same type of ballots used by other voters. Having those paper ballots is expected to be an advantage in the event of recounts during tight races, Lowe said.

George W. Bush won Florida and the White House by 537 votes in 2000, and political experts are predicting another close election this year.

The paper ballot eliminates risk because the votes can be tracked and mechanical breakdowns aren't likely to interrupt the election process, said Joe Vanek, a managing partner with AutoMARK Technical Systems LLC of Chicago.

His company makes the system and has teamed up with Election Systems & Software Inc. of Omaha, Neb., to distribute and service them.

Doug Hall, a blind Daytona Beach man, liked the AutoMARK while using it during a demonstration in Tallahassee earlier this year. Blind people use headphones to listen to the "audio ballot" and make selections with a keypad. The machine also has a screen for people with less-severe visual problems or for people who have physical problems such as arthritis-a condition that can make marking a traditional ballot difficult.

"I just listened to the instructions and they told me what to do, and it's a simple machine to run," Hall said.

Currently, blind voters in counties without special machines must have someone else mark their ballots. If they arrive at the polls alone, two poll workers-one from each political party-are assigned to help the blind voter.

Lowe said that's not good enough because "the rest of us don't have to tell another soul how we voted . . ."

Two years ago, the County Council approved nearly $700,000 for a different system, which Lowe couldn't buy because it wasn't certified.

The AutoMARK machines are more expensive, but the state will chip in to help pay for them, so the county's share may end up being about $250,000 to $300,000 for about $970,000 worth of equipment.

Even if Volusia gets all 194 machines this year, Lowe said she wouldn't have one at each precinct during the Nov. 2 election because she needs time to train poll workers and educate voters.

She said she would likely have one at each of three proposed early-voting locations: DeLand, New Smyrna Beach and Daytona Beach.