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At a news conference Wednesday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the board's performance "an outrage."

He said that last week, the state BOE asked the city for emergency funds to handle the influx of 700,000 people who registered to vote this year.

More than 200,000 registered in the last two weeks alone, roughly the same number the city got in all of 2007.

Bloomberg said he has spent months waiting in vain for the city BOE to talk to him about its needs.

"They keep saying they need more money and they won't tell us what they want to do with it," said the mayor. "We keep making suggestions, putting a sample ballot on the web; they won't do it. What about recruiting poll workers who have to have training before? We require training. They don't pay any attention to it. What about poll workers from good government groups, rather then just political parties? You know, this is an outrage."

In a response letter, the mayor's top lawyer called the state BOE's request an "unsettling surprise" since it did not come from the city board directly. The BOE was also blamed for lack of transparency and communication with City Hall.

"We've got a check for $20 million, just sitting there. All they have to do is pick it up. But they're not getting the money until they tell us what they're going to do with it. This is preposterous," said Bloomberg.

A spokesperson for the BOE called the mayor's comments unfortunate.

City election officials said they have been forced to do more with less money this year, as they try to comply with federal requirements under the Help America Vote Act.

"We believed we're as ready as we could be," said city BOE official Frederic Umane. "If we had money, we could hire an extra 50, 70, 100,000 people to work. We've hired an excess of 36,000 people. We hope most of them show up."

To deal with the 700,000 newly registered voters, the BOE will print supplemental poll books, which may cause confusion at poll sites.

"We hope the election goes off without a hitch and we hope and pray and anticipate that that will happen," said Umane.

On Monday the organization said it will be up to the task on Election Day, but nevertheless warned voters to expect long lines.