http://208.198.20.182/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=3&aid=50319
Politics
Lawmakers In
Albany Struggle To Come Up With Voting Reform Plan
April 22,
2005
New York
stands to lose millions of dollars in federal aid if state legislators don't
come up with a voting reform plan soon. NY1 Reporter Kristi Berner has more.
New York is
the only state in the nation that doesn't have a plan to modernize voting
procedures. But it's no surprise old-style politics is keeping state lawmakers
from reaching an agreement, even with $$200 million in federal funding in
jeopardy.
"They're
arguing in Albany about what kind of machine or system will replace what we
have right now, how they'll divide up the money, in terms of how many machines
will go to New York City as opposed to other parts of the state," says
Neal Rosenstein of the New York Public Interest Research Group.
The federal
Help America Vote Act, or HAVA, was passed in response to Florida's bungling of
the 2000 presidential election.
The act
requires states to modernize voting machines and to create state-wide voter
databases, among other things.
New York
lawmakers finally passed bills to satisfy some of the requirements this week.
But the major issues are unresolved, like how to replace the state's 20,000
voting machines. Lawmakers are debating, who should control the selection,
whether the same machine should be used everywhere, or whether individual
counties should choose their own machines, and how the machines should meet
requirements for disabled voters.
With
millions of dollars in state contracts on the line, lobbyists for voting
machine companies are converging on Albany.
"Their
mouths are salivating over coming into the New York market," says
Rosenstein. "And unfortunately, we may end up with a machine that has the
best lobbyists, not the best machine."
The other
main sticking point between Republicans in the senate and Democrats in the
Assembly is how first time voters will identify themselves at the polls. The
head of the Assembly Election Committee says the federal guidelines don't
provide enough options. The main ID requirement is a driver's license, which
many city residents don't have.
"We
want to be inclusive in terms of language, in terms of identification, who can
vote, what those persons will need, whether it's a MetroCard with your picture
on it or a public housing lease," says Assemblyman Keith Wright.
But a
spokesman for the Senate Election Committee chairman says identification
requirements haven't been an issue in past elections.
"We
don't want to dilute people's votes by fake or illegal votes," said Peter
Mooney.
A spokesman
for the city's board of elections says they're concerned that if a decision on
voting machines isn't made soon, they won't have enough time to properly train
poll workers, or voters, on to use the machines.
– Kristi
Berner
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2005 NY1 News. All rights reserved.
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