Hearing by the Government Operations
Committee and Technology in Government Committee of the New York City Council,
January 29, 2007
Statement in Support of Resolution 131:
New York City Doesn’t Have the Time for DRE’s
New Yorkers are busy
people who don’t like to wait on lines. Perhaps that’s why there is a Starbucks
and drug store at every corner. If there is a line, we keep walking.
An independent study
commissioned by the State Board of Elections, known as the AIR Study, measured
how long it takes to vote on a DRE and an Optical Scan system. The study found
that it took about 4 minutes to vote on a Sequoia and Avante DRE and about 30
seconds to insert a ballot into an Optical Scanner including listening to a
speech on whether or not the test voter wanted to override the undervote
notification.
If you do the math,
it comes out that Avante or Sequoia DREs can accommodate between 207 and 247
people per machine per day. That’s between 14 and 16 people per hour, not
counting people who may take a little longer due to lack of experience with
computers, disabilities, etc., and hold up the line.
The Diebold Optical
Scan and ES&S OpScan machines can handle between 1,588 and 2,571 people per
day. That is between 106 and 171 per hour, again without counting voters who
take a little longer.
What this means is that the OpScan machines can handle 2 people per
minute while the DRE’s take 4 minutes for one voter. Duane Reade would be out
of business if its lines took 8 times longer than its competitors’ lines. New
Yorkers may plan to come back later when it’s not so crowded because it’s
pretty easy for us to get around, but people in other areas who drive to their
polling site may not have time to come back later. Hourly workers may not be
able to afford to come back later, having already missed time at work. Long lines result in disenfranchisement.
What about the cost
of equipment? If there are 100 people in my building and we all go to vote
between 8am and 9am on election day, how many voting machines would the school
next door need in order to serve us without a long wait? With one OpScan
machine, at the cost of about $11,000 for the scanner and accessible ballot
marking device, all of us could vote in 50 minutes. It would take six or seven DRE’s at the cost of $8,000 to $10,000
each to provide the same service.
The bottom line:
OpScan machines provide better service. Because they can serve more voters per
hour, fewer machines are needed, which cuts the cost of buying, transporting,
storing, and maintaining the machines.
Please pass
Resolution 131 out of committee and recommend it for passage by the entire City
Council. It is time for the City Council’s voice to be heard. Thank you.