http://www.dailyfreeman.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15853645&BRD=1769&PAG=461&dept_id=74969&rfi=6
DailyFreeman.com
By Ariel Zangla, Freeman staff
01/02/2006
CATSKILL - Greene County election commissioners, who had
hoped to order new voting machines by now, say they've had to put that plan on
hold because of a delay from the state.
A representative of the state Board of Elections blamed the
delay on the state Legislature, which in 2004 could not agree on legislation
needed to implement the federal Help America Vote Act, postponing the process
for a full year.
Thomas Burke, Greene County's Democratic commissioner of
elections, said he hoped the county could place its order for new machines by
Jan. 1, to have them delivered in time to provide training prior to the
September 2006 primaries. He said training must be given to election
inspectors, machine custodians and the general public.
But Burke said the county could not order new machines
because the state Board of Elections has not certified any for use. The county
must select a new type of machine from a group that will be certified by the
state.
"As of right now, they're not certified yet, so that's
what we're all waiting on," Burke said on Friday.
The new machines are required as part of the Help America
Vote Act, which was passed by Congress in 2002 in response to the contested
presidential vote in Florida two years earlier. As part of the legislation, which
was adopted by New York state in June, all lever-action voting machines now
used by counties must be replaced. The cost of the new machines is being
covered by the federal government.
Lee Daghlian, director of public information for the state
Board of Elections, said the state agency had to write new voting machine
regulations to reflect changes in state law to comply with the Help America
Vote Act. He said the agency still is in the "public comment" phase
and cannot make the regulations permanent until that phase is complete. After
the regulations are made permanent, he said, the state will be able to certify
new voting machines.
The certification will occur as manufacturers bring their
models to the state Board of Elections, Daghlian said. He said the board hopes
to have that done in February so it can provide a complete list of certified
machines to the counties in March. Then, he said, the machines can be ordered
and delivered over the summer, prior to the primaries.
It's not clear, however, if that schedule can be met.
Daghlian said if the new machines cannot be delivered in time, then the
counties will have to use their old machines. And if the new machines are
delivered but there is not enough time for training, it will be up to the
commissioners in each county to determine which machines to use.
The federal government said the implementation of the Help
America Vote Act should be completed by September 2006, Daghlian said, while
the state has given counties until 2007.
Daghlian said the U.S. Justice Department has been
monitoring the states' progress and knows New York is running behind. He said
he hopes the state will be allowed to complete the implementation without
penalty.
Had the state Legislature in 2004 adopted the necessary
bills for the implementation of the Help America Vote Act, Daghlian said, the
counties could have been receiving their new machines around now. But adoption
of the bills was delayed until June 2005.
Without the bills being adopted, the state Board of
Elections could not tap into the federal money to begin its part of the
process, Daghlian said.
İDaily Freeman 2006
Reader Opinions:
Dave
Channon Jan, 02 2006
Demand "Optical Scanner"
voting machines. They each can serve 10 times as many people as "Touch
Screen" machines. Optical costs far less per machine, is easy to train
for, lasts 5 times as long as troublesome, crash prone, tamperable touch
screens, and every voter personally hand marks an official paper ballot that
gets saved in a locked box for verification. Optical is really tough to tamper
with. PLUS! The state will have to replace the touch screen machines every 4
years or so. That's ANOTHER $250 million every 4 years! Opticals last 20 or more
years. Touch screen is a pork barrel give away to Diebold and other republican
owned companies that coincidentally makes it harder to vote, and easier to
tamper with. Wake up NY legislatures! Freeman: Why was discussion of the type
of new machine omitted from the article? Are you helping the touch screen scam
by your omission? The old lever machines have lasted more than 50 years and
have been far more reliable than any computerized voting machine available
today! Why are we so eager to get rid of Levers? If we all were using Levers or
Opticals, George Bush would not be president today. Think about it.
Norman
Green Jan, 02 2006
New York State election law requires
that any and all voting machines purchsed WILL have a verifable paper trail.
The New York state Legislature was ahead of the pack on this issue and should
be commended.
shirley
polishook Jan, 02 2006
I'm sorry you dont mention the fact
that the Diebold electronic voting machines have been found to be easy to
tamper with to change results without a trace. There must be a paper trail to
follow and Diebold is unwilling to provide this security. If the options
available are not as accurate as what we have now, it doesn't make sense to
spend the money buying more problems. I respect the need for caution in this
matter. California and North Carolina are also having trouble with the choices
offered. For more information on electronic voting problems, read
www.bradblog.com on the internet
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