"After evaluating all of the information available to us at the time, we determined that we were unlikely to have an effective partnership with the county," the spokesman said.

The county had expected to have ES&S voting systems in place for the next federal election and to gain federal grant money to help pay for them.

Sancho said approval of any federal grants for the equipment is now in jeopardy as the county begins a new search for voting machines that meet state and federal guidelines. The options include once again turning to Diebold equipment or choosing another vendor, he said.

"At this point, it's not clear what we'll do," said Sancho. "I've got two major entities in the elections business that simply don't have the time to deal with Leon County."

Sancho has been public with his doubts about the reliability of electronic voting gear; he even sponsored test hacks into the county's Diebold AccuVote optical scan systems -- a move that led to a somewhat strained relationship with Allen, Texas-based Diebold.