The state procurement office yesterday denied a request by the state's chief elections officer for an exemption from procurement law to move forward with a temporary contract for new voting machines.

Kevin Cronin, the chief elections officer, had wanted to give a $9 million contract to Hart InterCivic to provide paper eScan and electronic eSlate voting machines for the September primary and November general election. The temporary contract, according to Cronin, would have allowed the state Office of Elections and county clerks to continue work for this year's elections while a challenge to a long-term contract for voting machines was resolved.

But the state procurement office found that Cronin's request would have undermined an agreement reached last week between the elections office, Hart and Election Systems & Software, which is challenging the state's award of the long-term contract to Hart, on a timeline for settling the challenge.

"Any approval of this exemption at this time would be an act of bad faith by allowing (the elections office) to circumvent the signed agreement," the procurement office determined.

The challenge will likely be heard in June by a hearings officer with the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

The state awarded Hart a $43.4 million contract to provide voting machines through the 2016 elections, with an option for the 2018 elections. ES&S, which bid $18.1 million for the contract, argued that the state has not adequately explained why Hart won given the large difference in cost.

Cronin has completed a cost and price analysis that found that Hart had the superior proposal.

Although Cronin asked for the temporary contract because only four months remain before the primary, he said he expects to have new voting machines ready in time. "It's more than a hope, it's my expectation that we're going to be able to do it," he said.