https://apnews.com/000274d4ae2d9cce614e3cfb25d9c3b4

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana’s top elections official is pushing to resume his voting machine replacement effort, telling the state's chief procurement officer that her temporary hold on work to hire a contractor “needlessly upended” the process.

Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin lambasted the decision by Louisiana’s chief procurement officer Paula Tregre, whose office in Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration oversees the bidding process. Tregre stopped the voting machine shopping work after one of the interested vendors, Texas-based Hart InterCivic, complained the contractor solicitation was drawn too narrowly and could sideline it and other qualified voting technology firms.