Hearing before the Governmental Operations
Committee and Technology in Government Committee, New York City Council January
29, 2007
I support paper
ballots and optical scanners with accessible ballot marking machines for voters
with special needs.
With paper ballots,
everyone votes on the same kind of ballot. After you fill it out, it goes
through the scanner and into a sealed box.
If something goes wrong, the box can be opened and the paper can be read
and counted. You don’t have to be a technical computer person to read and count
paper ballots.
With electronic
voting machines, you can’t be sure of the electronic records, and you can’t be
sure that the voters have verified their voter-verifiable paper printout. A
paper ballot filled out by the voter directly or with a ballot marking machine
is better.
Please pass
Resolution 131 to urge the New York City Board of Elections to select a paper
ballot and optical scanner system when we have to replace the lever voting
machines.
Thank you.