http://www.syracuse.com/news/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1163929588202000.xml&coll=1
The Post-Standard
He blasts state Legislature and state Board of Elections
for lack of decisions.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
By John Mariani
Staff writer
Onondaga County Executive Nicholas Pirro said Friday he's
going to insist that he and the county Legislature have a say on which
electronic voting system is picked to replace the county's lever voting
machines.
The push is expected to begin at 11 a.m. Monday as Pirro
reconvenes the county's voting machine task force.
Frustrated by delays and conflicting information, Pirro said
he wants the panel of county legislators, administrators and election
commissioners to explore where New York stands in certifying a list of
acceptable electronic systems, how much it's going to cost the county, and
whether a new system can be set up in time for the 2007 elections.
While state law gives each county's election commissioners
the job of picking a replacement system from the state's certification list,
Pirro said, he and the county Legislature have to put up the money and are
going to demand that they be given a say in the choice.
"We're all elected by the people of this county, and
the election commissioners are not," Pirro said. "We think they at
least need to include us in their decision-making."
Republican Election Commissioner Helen Kiggins said she
would wait to hear what Pirro had to say Monday before commenting.
The situation is not the fault of Kiggins or Democratic
Commissioner Edward Szczesniak, Pirro said, but rather the state Legislature
"who messed up this thing from day one because they couldn't make
decisions. And then the state Board of Elections couldn't make decisions, and
now we're faced with picking up their mess."
State election officials are supposed to release a list of
certified machines by the end of January. Local officials originally expected
the list in July.
Pirro said he's worried that by the time a replacement
system arrives, officials won't have enough time to train voters and election
inspectors on how they work. He said he wants Szczesniak and Kiggins to discuss
their training plans at Monday's meeting.
How much the county would have to pay is also an issue,
Pirro said. New York has blown two election deadlines for replacing its voting
machines under the federal Help America Vote Act, jeopardizing $46.9 million in
aid the counties would use to buy replacement systems, Pirro said.
Which system to choose is critical, Pirro said. Voter
interest groups and election officials dispute whether touch-screen systems or
paper-based scanners are more reliable, leave the best records for recounts and
are cheaper.
Pirro said he has commissioned two Budget Office staff
members and Deputy Comptroller Thomas Squires to research cost and wants more
information on reliability.
"This scenario is beyond belief," Pirro said.
"We still don't know what we're looking at."
John Mariani can be reached at jmariani@syracuse.com or at
470-3105.
© 2006 The Post-Standard.