Miller said he had opposed legislation filed earlier this year to require a paper trail of electronic votes because the bill was filed too close to last month's general election.

The senator said he had feared that local officials wouldn't have enough time to meet the requirements of the bill. With the next major election two years away, those officials should have plenty of time to ensure that e-voting machines provide a paper trail if such a law were enacted next year, he said.

"This is a concern about the future," Miller said. "We haven't had problems [with e-voting] in Maryland. Our optical machines have worked fine." He contended that problems in recent elections can be traced to human error.

For example, apparent human error was cited in September when some 12,000 Maryland voters were forced to use makeshift provisional ballots when they couldn't access e-voting machines during primary elections. At the time, officials said that cards required for access to the machines weren't shipped to 238 precincts in Montgomery County.

A law requiring a paper record of every vote cast would ensure the integrity of the election process, Miller said. "We want to make sure that every vote is counted and secure and that there is a paper trail," he added.