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ELECTION 2006

Disabled faced glitches

BY WILLIAM MURPHY

STAFF WRITER; Staff writers Sid Cassese and Herbert Lowe contributed to this story.

November 8, 2006

Some disabled people hit stumbling blocks on the first Election Day that was supposed to be free of physical barriers for disabled Americans.

Frank Perino, who is legally blind, said a poll worker in Bohemia asked him to sign his name on his computer-generated voting slip instead of on the envelope in which it was to be placed.

"That means it's not private," Perino said. "That's exactly what we're trying to get away from. We're trying for a truly secret ballot for disabled persons."

In Roosevelt, three voting computers for the disabled were set up at the headquarters of the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County. About 70 people had voted by 3 p.m., and no problems were reported.

Two of the special machines were available at each of a dozen polling places on Long Island, including the Sycamore Avenue School in Bohemia where Perino voted.

New York State has failed to meet most requirements of the 2002 Help America Vote Act - such as having electronic voting machines in place and barrier-free - and faces sanctions.

However, Perino, 63, said the screen on the computer faced out into the large room, allowing anyone walking by to see whom he was voting for.

He said he complained to election officials and got a call at home later, informing him he would be picked up and driven back to the polling site to cast a valid ballot in secrecy.

The National Federation of the Blind said about 100 disabled people called its nationwide hotline to report problems in voting, and that the largest number of complaints came from New York City.

"We assume that is only a fraction of the problem because most people who encounter difficulty do not call," said John Pare Jr., a spokesman for the group.

John Ravitz, executive director of the city's Board of Elections, said his agency had set aside parking spaces for the disabled at the five borough offices with the computers; Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan each received five machines.

Ravitz said about 615 people had used the machines by 6 p.m. and that he had not heard any complaints from advocacy groups.

"I know it's not a perfect solution, but nothing about HAVA is perfect," Ravitz said.

Staff writers Sid Cassese and Herbert Lowe contributed to this story.

Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.