SARATOGA SPRINGS - Partisan gridlock on Wednesday delayed court-ordered action to choose a replacement for New York's old lever voting machines to comply with federal law.

The state Board of Elections will meet again Thursday in an unscheduled session to try to beat Friday's deadline to comply with the Help America Vote Act, created after the long contested 2000 election highlighted problems in states' voting systems.

The lack of a decision came after Republicans and Democrats spent hours behind closed doors discussing language, officials said.

Because of illness, the state Board of Elections was down one voting member Wednesday. That left three people - two Republicans and a Democrat - to reach unanimous agreement on a new type of voting machine for the state with 5.3 million enrolled Democrats and 3 million enrolled Republicans.

If they fail to meet the deadline, election officials will face the enmity of U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe who has threatened to appoint a special master to handle the issue, or even throw board members in jail on contempt charges.

The Help America Vote Act aims to ensure voting accuracy and access for the disabled. New York is years behind federal deadlines to comply with the law.

Sharpe, who is overseeing a lawsuit against the state by the U.S. Department of Justice, has said he was frustrated with the board's “paralysis.”

Officials also announced Wednesday that Peter Kosinski, the board's Republican co-executive director, decided to step down. He was immediately replaced by Todd Valentine, also a Republican, who had previously acted as the board's special counsel.