by KYW's Tony Romeo

Bucks County voters will be using the old mechanical lever machines in the May primary, instead of the new electronic machines that were on order.

Federal law requires upgraded voting machines, but David Sanko, chief operating officer for Bucks County, says there were a lot of delays on the part of state and federal officials in determing which of the new machines would be certified for use:

”…and then the extended and protected litigation. The commissioners acted at the very first public meeting after there was a green light for all that stuff.”

But it was too late -- the company that manufactures the machines chosen by Bucks County now says it won’t be able to deliver them in time for the primary.

Sanko says the county made a good-faith effort to meet the deadline,  and for that reason he hopes the county will not lose out on nearly a million federal dollars it’s been allocated to purchase upgraded voting machines.