Bo Lipari
report, 4/8/05
Here's an
update on where we stand in our fight for adoption of paper ballots and optical
scanners as our voting equipment in NY, and an overview of what we need to do
in the next few weeks as we approach a decision on voting equipment.
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Status
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The first
phase of our campaign for PBOS has been an overwhelming success. In just a few
months, we've gone from hardly being on the radar to being actively talked
about as THE alternative to DREs. We've won a great deal of support for PBOS
among legislators and the media, and our support is continuing to grow. That's
the good news.
But for all
we've accomplished, there still is powerful opposition to the adoption of paper
ballots/optical scan in NY.
The voting
machine vendors who are pushing their high-priced, poor performing DREs are
ramping up their lobbying efforts and spreading disinformation about the
optical scan alternative to state and county legislators and election officials.
These powerful interests thought they had DREs sold to NYS and they are not
happy that citizen efforts have won the paper ballot alternative incredible
support in a such short time. They are not going to give up easily. The more
successful we are, the more they will apply pressure behind the scenes for
DREs.
We've
accomplished a lot, but we still have a lot to do. In the weeks ahead, we are
going to have to continue to talk to legislators, especially Senators, to
endorse PBOS. The State Board of Elections, local county legislators and
election officials must also be contacted and fully informed about the benefits
of optical scan and the danger, problems, and huge expense of DREs.
Over the
next few weeks, here's what we'll need to do:
1) Continue
contacting state legislators, especially focusing on Senators, to support PBOS.
We want the Assembly to pass bill A6503 which calls for adoption of optical
scan, and the Senate to introduce and pass a companion bill.
2) Continue
getting our PBOS message into the media - Op-Ed pieces, letters to the editor,
setting up meeting with editorial boards.
3) Reach out
to county officials - set up meetings and presentations about the PBOS
alternative with county legislators, executives and committees.
More details
below.
-Bo Lipari
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HAVA
Conference Committee
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The HAVA
conference committee held several public meetings last month in which agreement
was announced on administrative complaint procedure, the statewide database,
and county consolidation issues.
The
outstanding issues are poll site access, voting machines and verification of
voter identity. The conference committee has received an extension and will
hold the next meeting on Monday (4/11) or Tuesday (4/12).
Although
there is now strong support among many legislators for paper ballot/optical
scan (PBOS) as NY's choice of voting equipment, it still seems unlikely that
the HAVA conference committee will agree on legislation that requires PBOS and
excludes DREs. If the final legislation is open to both alternatives, that
means the choice of equipment will rest with the State Board of Elections.
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Build Senate
Support for PBOS - Introduce companion bill to A6503
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Last month
Assemblywomen Sandy Galef and Barbara Lifton introduced bill A6503, calling for
adoption of paper ballot/optical scan systems in New York State. There are
currently 20 cosponsors of the bill. You can find the bill summary, cosponsor
list and a link to the text here:
http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A06503
If the HAVA
conference committee does not require paper ballot/optical scan in it's final
legislation, passage of A6503 and an equivalent Senate bill will be the only
legislative route we have to adoption of PBOS. There is currently no companion
bill in the Senate, and we need to build support among the Senate for
introduction and passage of a companion bill to A6503.
Contact your
state Senator and tell them you support Paper Ballots for NY!
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State Board
of Elections
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If the
legislature passes HAVA legislation allowing for both DREs and paper
ballot/optical scan, it will fall to the State BOE to decide which machines to
certify in New York. We're going to need very strong pressure from citizens and
counties on the four election commissioners and deputy Director Peter Kosinski
to ensure that optical scanners are a choice.
We have
begun making contact and meeting with state BOE officials. Depending on what
happens in the legislature and when, we will be organizing alerts and
demonstrations at the state BOE in support of paper ballots and optical scan.
Stay tuned.
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Counties
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It is quite
possible that the outcome of our efforts will be that individual counties will
get to choose between a DRE or an optical scan system.
We need to
begin getting the counties on our side in support of adoption to PBOS. We've
already begun doing presentations to county legislators, executives, and budget
committees around the state. We must make county officials understand that
adopting DREs is essentially an UNFUNDED MANDATE TO THE COUNTIES.
NYVV is
developing acquisition and maintenance cost projections and other materials
which show the huge additional cost and problems associated with DREs. Many
county officials are skeptical of touch screen voting and we need to educate
them and provide them with facts that they do not hear from DRE vendors.
The
counties, if they can be won over to support PBOS, will be effective in
influencing the equipment that the state BOE certifies, and may force them to
allow a PBOS system as well as DREs. If that happens, then we must have the
counties educated enough to choose PBOS.
It is vital
to begin work NOW at the county level to educate county legislators and
election officials about why paper ballot optical scan is the superior choice.
We need citizens in each county willing to help us set up meetings and
presentations with county officials.