The chief election officer may adopt, experiment with, or abandon any voting system authorized under this chapter or to be authorized by the legislature. These systems shall include, but not be limited to voting machines, paper ballots, and electronic voting systems. All voting systems approved by the chief election officer under this chapter are authorized for use in all elections for voting, registering, and counting votes cast at the election.

Voting systems of different kinds may, at the discretion of the chief election officer, be adopted for different precincts within the same district. The chief election officer may provide for the experimental use at any election, in one or more precincts, of a voting system without a formal adoption thereof and its use at the election shall be as valid for all purposes as if it had been permanently adopted; provided that if a voting machine is used experimentally under this paragraph it need not meet the requirements of section 16-12.