"We have a tight election reform deployment schedule, too few allocated federal and state dollars, and not one electronic voting device certified under Ohio's standards and rules," he said.

It's the same position he threatened to take a year ago when lawmakers first assailed his decision to set a deadline for counties to select from a menu of voting machines. Eventually, the General Assembly mandated that any electronic device be equipped with a paper backup system for recount purposes.

Although optical-scan devices, which use paper ballots read electronically, meet her paper-backup requirement, Sen. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo) questioned Mr. Blackwell's rush to judgment.

The federal Help America Vote Act does not require full compliance until 2006.

"An auditable machine is absolutely critical," she said. "However, he needs to allow the process to happen so everyone will have a voice, for everyone to make this decision. I feel the process he used to make his decision is flawed."