A Maui judge has ruled that it is in the public's interest for the state Office of Elections to adopt new administrative rules for electronic voting machines before the 2010 elections.

Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza, in a written decision issued Thursday, said the office has a reasonable amount of time to adopt the rules because the next elections are a year away.

Cardoza in May ruled in favor of five Maui residents who sued the state alleging that new electronic voting machines for the 2008 elections were improperly approved because of a lack of administrative rules. The judge also agreed with residents that the state should have adopted administrative rules for transmitting election results from the Neighbor Islands to Honolulu over telephone lines or the Internet.

The written decision last week explained the judge's order for a permanent injunction against the state.

"We're studying it and it's implications on us," Kevin Cronin, the state's chief elections officer, said yesterday. "I can't comment beyond that."

In written testimony prepared for an informational briefing today before the state Senate Ways and Means Committee, Cronin said the possibility of an appeal cannot be ruled out. He also said his office has been reviewing and revising administrative rules. He said the rules have been sent to the state attorney general's office for review and would then be forwarded to Gov. Linda Lingle before they are the subject of a public hearing.

In August 2008, an administrative hearings officer canceled the contract for new electronic voting machines after the 2008 elections because the Office of Elections acted in bad faith in awarding it to Hart InterCivic over other vendors with less expensive bids. The state is appealing that ruling in Circuit Court.

In the meantime, the Office of Elections has issued a request for proposals for new electronic voting machines for the 2010 elections. Bids are due Oct. 15.

Lance Collins, a Wailuku attorney for the Maui residents who challenged the state, said the state should have to adopt new administrative rules before accepting bids on voting machines. He said his clients are pleased with the judge's written decision.

"The plaintiffs are very happy. It was very thorough. It essentially found that the plaintiffs arguments were correct," Collins said.

Robert Babson Jr., a former Maui elections observer and one of the residents who sued, had warned that transmitting Neighbor Island votes over telephone lines or the Internet could give the vendor the potential ability to "flip" votes between candidates and "change the outcome of elections."