NEW YORK - There was a small crowd gathered in front of the city's Board of Elections Monday morning. They were slamming board officials including its leader, Mike Ryan, and a touchscreen voting machine called the ExpressVote XL.

It's made by a company called Election Systems and Software — the same company a NY1 investigation found had put Ryan on a secretive advisory board and flew him around the country and put him in hotels to attend conferences in places like Las Vegas. 

But even so, last month, Ryan and the deputy director at the board asked state officials to allow them use this machine for early voting this fall even though it hadn't yet been tested and fully certified by the state. 

On Friday, the state board rejected the request, stating that approving the machine early would be "irresponsible." But now that request has sparked alarm among officials outside of the Board on Monday. 

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams has called for Ryan to resign.

"Instead of representing the public interest, Mr. Ryan is acting as a de facto lobbyist for ES&S," Torres said.

City Councilman Ritchie Torres, the head of the council's investigations committee, is now demanding for the city Department of Investigation or the state probe Ryan's possible conflict of interest. 

"Rejection is not enough. There needs to be a full fledged investigation into Michael Ryan," Torres said.

In a statement, board officials said this particular machine is no longer being considered because of the state's rejection and it is exploring other options. 

A representative from the city's Board of Elections would not comment on the continued call for Mike Ryan's resignation or the potential investigation into his so-called conflict of interest.