Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner wants to spend more than $1.8 million to retest the state's voting machines, but some members of the Ohio Controlling Board aren't convinced it's necessary.

"I don't understand why we're doing it," said Sen. John Carey, R-Wellston, a member of the board, which is scheduled to consider Brunner's request Monday afternoon.

"I have real concerns about that particular request," said Sen. Steve Stivers, a Columbus Republican.

Brunner wants all of the electronic touch-screen and optical-scan systems used in Ohio and the procedures for handling them thoroughly examined to allay concerns about their security and accuracy.

She wants the board to waive competitive bidding to spend $1.8 million in federal grant money for Columbus-based MicroSolved Inc., SysTest Labs of Denver and a consortium of academic subcontractors to do the work by Nov. 30.

Battelle in Columbus would be paid $98,158 under a separate state contract to manage the project.

Ohio has spent more than $100 million in federal Help America Vote Act funds since 2004 to replace all of its punch cards and other, older voting systems in the wake of the controversy over the 2000 presidential election in Florida.

But some activists continue to argue that the machines can be hacked or aren't reliable, and reports from tests in other states have raised concerns about the vulnerabilities of certain voting systems.

California has decertified the same touch-screen and optical-scan devices used in more than half of Ohio's counties on grounds that they have design flaws.

Still, voting-machine vendors and county elections officials insist that Ohio's machines work and are secure as long as proper procedures are followed. Carey and others also point out that former Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell had exhaustive tests of the machines conducted before they were bought and approved for use in Ohio.

"How many tests are we going to have to do?" Stivers asked. .

Stivers and Carey also question what standards would be used for the testing and what the state would do if the tests conclude the machines aren't reliable and need to be replaced.

But Brunner, a Democrat elected last fall, argues that software has been upgraded since the previous tests, and that she owes it to voters to put any lingering concerns to rest.

For that reason, Controlling Board members Jay Hottinger, a Republican state representative from Newark, and Sen. Ray Miller, D-Columbus, said they support Brunner's request.

"It's an essential project, as far as I'm concerned," Miller said.

Miller and Hottinger did question the cost and scope of the project, initially estimated by Brunner's office at about $500,000.

The proposal now includes testing for machines that are not being used but could be approved in the future, as well as $1 million for the academic computer specialists to help.

"My hope is that things are going to check out as it should," Brunner said in a recent interview. "The goal of our testing is (to determine) do the machines work as intended, do they accurately count the votes and what do we need to do to improve security and chain of custody to make sure the first two things happen."

mniquette@dispatch.com