This May, voters across Pennsylvania should be following those in Philadelphia in making the switch to accurate and speedy ATM-style voting machines. Instead, thousands may have to make do with punch cards, familiar but decades-old lever machines, and even paper ballots in rare instances. Some voters may even have to cast ballots by two separate methods; one for local and state races, another for congressional contests. It's a question of whether election officials will be able to meet a federal mandate to implement more reliable and accessible voting systems. In most cases, that means replacing lever machines. That's cumbersome, though, even without the delays and confusion plaguing this process. And now county officials are stymied by legal wrangling over procedures for buying voting machines. In this region, the legal fight could affect Bucks and Chester Counties, where officials hope to switch to electronic machines. What a mess. At least, there's hope that today's planned hearing before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court could begin to clear it up. The court will hear an appeal of Commonwealth Court Judge Dan Pellegrini's recent ruling that halted Westmoreland County officials from buying ATM-style machines. Pellegrini agreed with plaintiffs that Pennsylvania law requires counties to get voter approval before switching to electronic voting. His decision has statewide implications, with other counties ordering machines. (No such controversy exists in New Jersey or Delaware.) That's why the Supreme Court has to apply common-sense standards and put the state's voting upgrades back on track. The justices should come down firmly on the side of complying with the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA). Remember the 2000 Florida vote-count debacle? There are no hanging chads with the ATM-style voting systems promoted by HAVA. There's yet another good reason to clear roadblocks to modernizing voting: avoiding state forfeiture of $23 million in federal funds to help meet HAVA requirements. Upgrading the way Pennsylvanians cast ballots awaits a critical vote of confidence from the high court.