http://www.columbiaspectator.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/03/23/4241227160636
New York
State Legislature's Plan to Help America Vote May Hurt NYC Residents
By Amanda
Erickson
Spectator
Staff Writer
March 23,
2005
Only a few
weeks ago, New York State risked losing over $200 million in federal aid
because legislators from the State Senate and Assembly just couldn’t
compromise.
Now the
state has created a joint conference committee to work out differences between
the two houses in order to secure funds to improve voting practices in New
York. The money will be used to bring the state into compliance with the Help
America Vote Act, a federal act that encourages states to reform their voting
practices.
The
conference committee has already agreed on which voting machines to buy, who
will own the machines, how to create a statewide voter registration list, and
how voter complaints should be handled.
They have
yet to decide, however, on several potentially contentious issues, including
what kind of identification will be accepted at polls, an issue particularly
relevant to the many immigrants without proper identification who live in New
York.
Both houses
agree that the formation of the conference committee was important to protect
New York State’s voters. A similar committee formed last year dissolved before
necessary agreements were forged to spend the new federal monies, which were
released after questionable voting acts in Florida in 2000.
HAVA “will
protect the integrity of our election process, ensure that every vote counts
... and meets the requirements of special-needs voters,” said Sen. John
Flanagan (R-Long Island) in a press release on Feb. 15.
The
decisions implemented by HAVA will create “the most open process possible,”
said Sisa Moyl, a spokeswoman for Assembly democrats.
Legislators
agree that HAVA is a necessary step in protecting voters and resolving issues
of uncounted votes and voter fraud faced in the last national election.
“Voting is
important—we’ve learned how close elections can be,” said Assemblyman Daniel
O’Donnell (D-Morningside Heights). “People have to have confidence that their
vote will be counted.”
“One of the
most important things is making sure the voters are protected,” said Ben Rosen,
a spokesman for Assemblyman Keith Wright (D-Harlem). In the last national
election, he said that there were “instances of corruption. [We wanted to]
protect against that in New York.”
The HAVA
conference committee has addressed this by agreeing to purchase voting machines
that protect voters by giving them a receipt that acknowledges their vote has
been counted. The committee also chose to purchase voting machines that can be
used by persons with disabilities.
But some
issues have yet to be decided, including what forms of identification will be
accepted at the polls. While Senators advocate accepting only government-issued
identification cards at the polls, the assembly is pushing for broader ID
requirements. The issue is particularly relevant in New York City, where many
residents do not have drivers’ licenses.
The Senate,
in its Voter ID bill, is pushing for strict legislation requiring either a
valid photo ID, a utility bill, a bank statement, or other government document.
Some local
leaders think this policy is an appropriate step that must be taken to protect
voters. “This is proper—there are a lot of people who are not even citizens who
are voting improperly,” said Jordi Reyes-Montblanc, chair of Community Board 9.
Other city
leaders, however, believe these requirements may make it more difficult for
their constituents to vote.
“When you
live outside the city, you have a driver’s license. In cities, that’s not the
case,” O’Donnell said. He hopes the committee will keep the ID requirements as
open as possible.
Rosen
agreed. He noted that many citizens in Assemblyman Wright’s district are
advocating for increasingly open ID requirements to protect immigrants and the
homeless, who do not have access to traditional forms of identification. He
said that the Assemblyman is considering ways to “provide people who usually
don’t have an address an ID.”
But both
assemblymen and senators in the conference committee believe they will be able
to work through these issues to secure the funds from the federal government
for HAVA.
“The most
important thing is that we get the money and have an opportunity to spend the
money,” Rosen said. “If we don’t spend it this year, it’s gone.”
New York and
Alaska are the only states in the union that have not implemented HAVA.
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