WASHINGTON -- In the past six years, the federal government has spent billions of dollars on election reform, hoping to prevent a replay of the 2000 Florida election debacle.

But, with less than three weeks to go before a critical mid-term election that could decide which party controls Congress, some experts still see the potential for significant mishaps as Americans head to the polls, many using a new generation of voting technology for the first time.

"We know more about car tires than we do about voting machines," the Rev. DeForest Soaries, a former New Jersey secretary of state, said yesterday during a conference call with reporters and other election administration specialists.

Mr. Soaries has served as chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, a body created by the Help America Vote Act. Four years ago, Congress passed that law, known as HAVA, as a response to the 2000 presidential election in Florida. It set aside $3 billion in federal aid and required local governments nationwide to do away with their aging punch-card and lever machines.

By next month, nearly 82 million voters will have seen changes in election equipment over a six-year period, according to a February study released by Election Data Services, a consulting firm. In May, 62 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties deployed their new machinery, experiencing just minor problems. But serious malfunctions, many resulting from human error, struck primary elections in other parts of the country, including Chicago and Maryland's suburban counties near the District of Columbia.

Mr. Soaries, who left the EAC in 2005, said the federal body currently doesn't require states to report problems they have encountered with new machinery. Even though there has been no proof of tampering with any of the new systems during actual elections, Mr. Soaries isn't satisfied.

"We don't know what we don't know," he said. "No news is not good news, necessarily."

Several private companies have been selling voting equipment to counties, and each one must submit its machines for various types of federal, state and local testing. But some computer and election experts say those tests are inadequate and lack uniformity.

Miles Rapoport, former secretary of state in Connecticut, proposed a significant expansion of EAC's powers and resources, making it into a "NASA-style agency" that could research the development of electronic machines and set strict standards for the technology.

"Obviously, we operate according to what the Help America Vote Act directs us to do," said Jeannie Layson, an EAC spokeswoman. She said the commission accepts requests from states to investigate concerns with voting systems.

ES&S, a Nebraska company, is the most popular vendor. The majority of Western Pennsylvania counties -- including Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Cambria, Greene and Westmoreland -- are using the company's iVotronic.

Armstrong, Clarion, Somerset and Washington counties are using the AccuVote-TSX, built by Diebold Election Systems of North Canton, Ohio. In Fayette County, voters now use the Hart InterCivic eSlate.

More than 30 states have legislation requiring systems with paper trails that voters can use to check their choices, although the Pennsylvania Legislature hasn't moved on similar bills.

Ray Martinez, a former vice chairman for the EAC, said voters should demand that local officials closely safeguard and monitor the performance of paperless touch-screen machines like the iVotronic.

Marybeth Kuznik, a longtime poll worker in Westmoreland County and executive director of VotePa, said her group has been doing just that.

In Allegheny County, officials will start testing their 4,700 machines on Monday, and they have invited VotePA to watch the process, according to Kevin Evanto, spokesman for Chief Executive Dan Onorato.

The county also is holding more than 100 training sessions for as many as 6,000 poll workers and is hosting machine demonstrations at senior and community centers across the county. More information is available on the county Web site, www.county.allegheny.pa.us.

Mr. Evanto said the county has enough machines -- about three per precinct -- in case of breakdowns.

Yesterday's conference call was organized by the JEHT Foundation of New York City.