For several months, Ciber Inc. had been testing machines under evaluation for purchase by the state under a US$3 million contract signed in 2005.

The Ciber testing process had gained accreditation under federal guidelines set in 2002 but has yet to be certified for meeting updated requirements created in 2005.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission last summer failed to grant Ciber's request to gain special interim accreditation that is available to companies whose application for 2005 certification has yet to be acted upon.

That failure, first reported by The New York Times earlier this month and confirmed last week by the EAC, was blamed on undisclosed problems with Ciber's documentation process, said an EAC spokeswoman.

The EAC has so far declined to provide a report on its audit of the Ciber process to New York officials or to make it public.