http://www.fltimes.com/Main.asp?SectionID=38&SubSectionID=121&ArticleID=10643

 

Arcadia opts to wait on voting machines

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

By JIM MILLER

 

Finger Lakes Times, jmiller@fltimes.com

 

ARCADIA — New voting regulations led to some confusion at the Town Board’s organizational meeting last night.

 

The federal Help America Vote Act requires counties to take ownership of all the lever-action voting machines currently in use and purchase new machines, which the counties must maintain and store. But the state has fallen behind in implementing the law, leaving local officials wondering what to do.

 

On the agenda last night were the annual resolutions providing for town election inspectors and voting machine custodians as well as the resolution making provisions to store the machines.

 

Several board members said they weren’t sure whether they should pass the resolutions, pass them with language saying they would only be in force until the voting act was implemented, or not pass them at all.

 

Town Clerk Diane Allerton said she had received a letter from the county stating that the town’s machines were now county-owned, as mandated by the law. She said she had informed county officials of how much the town was paying to store the machines.

 

Councilman Gary Grant suggested telling the storage facility to bill the county in the future.

 

He also suggested not passing the resolution appointing custodians and the storage resolution. They could be passed later in the year if needed, he said.

 

The other board members agreed.

 

“Just because it’s the organizational meeting doesn’t mean we have to solve all the problems for the whole year,” Grant said.

 

The board did make provision for town election inspectors.

 

State officials need to create a list of approved voting machines for county officials to choose from. County officials must then buy the machines, transport them to towns and villages for elections and store them when not in use.

 

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