KINGSTON - By 2006, voters in New York state are expected to be casting their ballots electronically, rather than with the mechanical levers that have been used for decades.

But some in the computer industry say electronic voting machines are not as secure as lever and punch-card systems and could open the electoral process to fraud.

The federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 is aimed at increasing voter access to elections. One requirement is that all voters, including those with disabilities, can vote independently and privately.

New York must replace its 19,843 voting machines with electronic systems by 2006 to comply with the new regulations, at a cost of roughly $140 million.

But some say the new machines will cause more problems than they'll solve.

"Computerized voting solves one problem, and that's imperfect vote-counting technology," said Robert Lipari, a computer programmer who gave a presentation Thursday at Kingston City Hall about the problems associated with computerized voting. "The problem in Florida (in the 2000 presidential election) was a problem of vote counting, not of vote casting. But by taking these computerized votes, we're introducing a whole new set of problems dealing with vote-recording technology."

There are two main types of electronic voting machines: One issues a receipt after the voter casts his or her ballot so that the vote can be verified by the citizen and saved by election officials in case of a dispute or computer malfunction; the other does not issue a receipt and, as such, Lipari said, does not create a paper trail and makes election results overly dependent on computer accuracy.

Lipari said computer experts recommend that the system than provides a receipt. But this may not be an option in New York.

New York election law requires all races in any given election to be visible on a single ballot, or in the case of electronic machines, a single screen. According to state election spokesman Lee Daghlian, neither of the vendors certified in New York makes systems than can both show a full-face ballot and issue a receipt.

The state Board of Elections has, in the past, asked state lawmakers to change the full-face ballot requirement, but Daghlian said there appears to be no rush in Albany to do so. He said it is up to the federal government to establish rules for security, auditing and verification. "We consider this to be a national issue and not just a state issue," he said.

A bill has been introduced in Congress by U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., to require all electronic voting machines to produce a "voter-verified paper record." U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, is one of 66 co-sponsors of the bill.

Election officials say that regardless of which electronic system is employed in New York, it will be secure.

"Some people are a little concerned that these machines can be hacked. It's mostly coming from computer experts ... who say that you can hack anything or disrupt anything," Daghlian said. "The manufacturers assure us they've taken as much precautions as they possibly can to prevent that happening. It appears there would have to be a major conspiracy of people or groups to make that happen."

"Nobody's about to jeopardize New York state's efficiency in the operations of elections just because they have to have an electronic machine," said Ulster County Commissioner of Elections Thomas Turco. Turco said education and training will be essential to manage the transition.

Some $1.4 billion is earmarked to help states implement the Help America Vote Act in the coming year. About 95 percent of the cost of implementation is to be paid by the federal government, but it is unclear what funding will be dedicated for training and the upkeep of new systems in the future.