On October 10, 2006, the Albany County legislature passed the following resolution:

URGING ALBANY COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS TO PURCHASE OPTICAL-SCAN VOTING MACHINES FOR ALBANY COUNTY

By: NICHOLS, FREDERICK, JOYCE, DAWSON, DOMALEWICZ, GORDON, MONJEAU, RIDDICK, STECK

WHEREAS, New York State will soon begin a new process for conducting elections that will significantly increase the responsibility of counties for implementation of the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA), and

WHEREAS, county officials will be required to educate and inform voters about these new requirements that include appropriate identification for voting, selection and use of new voting machines, and implementation of new procedures for paper ballots, and

WHEREAS, Albany County, like all New York State Counties, must choose a voting machine and then purchase enough machines to be ready for use by September 2006, and

WHEREAS, optical-scan voting machines are easy to use, easy to maintain, more accurate and are less likely to be tampered with or to break down than other kinds of voting machines easier to verify in cases of recounts, and

WHEREAS, Optical-Scan machines cost less per machine and cost less to repair and to store, which could save Albany County taxpayers $1.2 million according to New Yorkers for Verified Voting, and

WHEREAS, Optical-Scan voting machines allow all voters to use the exact same and identical ballot-face for paper ballots, absentee ballots and military ballots, and

WHEREAS, Optical-Scan voting machines are a reliable, mature technology that has been used for 20 years and which are currently being used in 46 percent of all United States counties today, according to Election Data Services, Inc. and

WHEREAS, nonpartisan voting rights groups such as Common Cause, New Yorkers for Verified Voting and the League of Women Voters have strongly endorsed the use of Optical Scan voting machines because of the reasons stated above and to maintain integrity and trust in the electoral process, and

WHEREAS, it is the responsibility of the county legislature to enact a balanced county budget that will be mandated to take into consideration any decisions made by the county board of elections, and WHEREAS, the legislature has a vested interest in playing an active oversight role of the county's implementation of the Help America Vote Act requirements, now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Albany County Legislature hereby endorses the use of Optical-Scan voting machines and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Albany County Legislature hereby urges the Commissioners of the Albany County Board of Elections to purchase approved Optical-Scan voting machines for the voters of Albany County, and be it further

RESOLVED, that this resolution be provided to James M. Clancy, Democratic Commissioner of the Albany County Board of Elections, and John A. Graziano Republican Commissioner of the Albany County Board of Elections.