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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/18/opinion/l18vote.html

Preserving Democracy, Vote by Vote (5 Letters)

Published: November 18, 2006

To the Editor:

Re "Counting the Vote, Badly" (editorial, Nov. 16):

Our election system is truly broken. Rather than creating half-measures that would be exploited by one party or the other, let’s make a radical change to ensure the opportunity for universal suffrage.

We need at least a two-week polling period in which voters can produce identification, register and then cast their votes. One-day voting is a legacy of the days of traveling by horse; it needs to go. Elections need to be run by trained workers, not those who volunteer once or twice a year for a long day.

The electronic voting machine makers have failed. Their machines do not work reliably, few local workers can fix them, and paperless elections are inherently suspect. Let’s not try to fix their failures. Let’s use optical scanners or similar electronic machines only for tabulation of actual paper ballots.

Craig L. Sparks

Prospect, Ky., Nov. 16, 2006

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To the Editor:

At the core of democracy is a voting system that is transparent and ensures that votes cast will be counted. The Help America Vote Act and the reign of error spawned by expensive paperless electronic voting, along with the crazy patchwork quilt of county-by-county voting schemes, must be scrapped.

Equal protection in national elections requires the adoption of universal standards and a single voting system that ensures integrity and transparency. The new Congress should consult computer experts and come up with an optical scanner that provides both electronic efficiency and the availability of a paper trail.

Election administration should be placed within a single nonpartisan agency, modeled after the Government Accountability Office, with its rule-making procedures subject to public hearings and judicial oversight.

Ernest A. Canning

Thousand Oaks, Calif., Nov. 16, 2006

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To the Editor:

Because of unconscionable delays in putting the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 into effect, New York State has become the poster child for incompetence for failing to complete a basic improvement to our voting system: replacing our decades-old lever voting machines.

The State Board of Elections recently postponed again the target date for completing testing and certification of new voting machines, thus casting grave doubt on the city’s ability to replace its voting machines by next year’s elections and putting at risk approximately $20 million that New York City would otherwise receive in federal funds.

As Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said on Wednesday, these glaring failures demonstrate that the state’s elections system -- one of the last bastions of political patronage -- is in need of a complete overhaul.

New York needs a nonpartisan, professional staff in charge of elections.

Michael A. Cardozo

New York, Nov. 16, 2006

The writer is the corporation counsel of the City of New York and chairman of the mayor’s election modernization task force.

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To the Editor:

Re "Keeping the Voting Clean," by Richard L. Hasen (Op-Ed, Nov. 11):

Many Election Day problems in New York derive from an antiquated system where party-appointed election commissioners appoint poll workers and employees on the basis of party affiliation. The system has devolved into a patronage mill that may benefit the parties but often penalizes voters with unqualified staff.

To increase the pool and quality of Election Day workers, nonemergency civil service employees should be offered comp time on Primary Day if they work at the polls. Since many of these employees already get Election Day off, this would quickly create a pool of qualified candidates with the computer skills and professional abilities essential for our new voting systems.

To counter the distrust of electronic voting machines, we need an optical scan system that gives all voters the choice of filling out their ballots by hand or using a ballot marker. Ballot markers work like an A.T.M. and offer a wide range of features for voters with disabilities and for catching undervotes. Ballot markers do not count votes, but they do print out a ballot, providing a paper trail that can be audited after the election.

Neal Rosenstein

Brooklyn, Nov. 11, 2006

The writer is an election specialist with the New York Public Interest Research Group.

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To the Editor:

I agree with Richard L. Hasen that we need "to create a cadre of dedicated, professional nonpartisan administrators" to run our elections.

I propose that 10 percent of all funds raised for elections by any participating political party or special interest group be used to pay for these administrators. Who would be against financing a fair electoral process?

John Schoppert

Tacoma, Wash., Nov. 11, 2006