Don't expect new voting machines when going to the polls this fall.

State Board of Elections officials confirmed Wednesday that the state will continue to use the current lever machines and temporary ballot marking devices, purchased for disabled voters last year, for at least one more election.

Bob Brehm, deputy public information officer for the New York State Board of Elections, said that a mention in the New York Association of Counties bulletin last week stating that the state may use lever machines again this fall is accurate.

“Yes, looks that way,” Brehm said regarding the continued use of the lever machines during elections this fall.

Brehm explained that Ciber Inc., the company the state hired to test the new voting machines, was suspended by state officials due to non-compliance issues.

The state suspended the company in January after learning the federal government had suspended the same company last summer after completing an audit. Brehm said they would have suspended the company earlier if they had known about the federal government's suspension.

Brehm said the state communicates weekly with the U.S. Justice Department keeping them abreast of the current situation. Brehm said the state has already received two new proposals from different companies to test the machines.

New voting machines for the state were part of a package included in the federal Help America Vote Act. HAVA is a package of reforms meant to improve the state's voting process. Through HAVA, a federal law established in 2002, Cayuga County was supposed to receive roughly $850,000 for the purchase of machines and another $40,000 for training if the state met the federally set deadline.

Locally, Cayuga County Board of Elections officials expected this decision to be made when the state still hadn't ordered the machines in January.

“We weren't surprised when we heard this,” said Cherl Heary, Republican commissioner for the county's Board of Elections.

“I don't think this will change anything in our office. We won't change anything we normally do but we're not happy about it at all,” Heary said.

The ordering process for the new machines began in September 2005 and the state remained consistent in continuously pushing back the deadline.

“We've already taken the steps to make sure the lever machines are in full operation. We're on top of it,” Heary said.

Staff writer Kristina Martino can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kristina.martino@lee.net