New Hampshire also has spent only a fraction of its money, and officials in the Granite State insist that's by design: To spend only the interest earned on the federal money, so state taxpayers don't have to pick up the tab when the federal dollars run out.

David Scanlan, New Hampshire's deputy secretary of state, said that even as the state limits expenditures, it already has optical scan machines for about three of every four ballots in the state. Getting that number higher may not be practical in small towns with only 100 or so voters, he said.

Election Assistance Commission Chairwoman Rosemary Rodriguez said New Hampshire officials would have to be "miracle workers" to meet all the law's requirements while spending only the interest earned on their funds.

She also noted that New York's ancient lever machines may be comforting to those used to the clanking sound of casting a ballot, but such machines produce no paper trail and often break down.

Whatever glitches may be happening with new voting machines, Rodriguez said, the overall effect of the law has been to make elections better.

"We believe that the equipment, properly managed, will be accurate," said Rodriguez.