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The Democrat and Chronicle:

January 23, 2006

Extension, please

Federal government should extend deadline for voting machines

The federal Help America Vote Act of 2001 was passed to prevent a repeat of the 2000 presidential election, when poor election practices disenfranchised thousands of voters in Florida and elsewhere.

New York could be headed for similar confusion if the federal government doesn't extend a HAVA deadline that requires all of the state's voting machines to be replaced in time for the November elections.

Partisan bickering — over voter identification, for example — seriously hurt HAVA compliance efforts in New York. This state is so far behind all other states, the U.S. Department of Justice is threatening to sue. There is no excuse for the Legislature's slow action, but if the federal government presses New York to meet this deadline, voters will likely suffer.

Even under the best circumstances, there isn't nearly enough time to buy and install 20,000 new machines and ensure that the November elections run smoothly.

The state is approaching the end of a public comment period on the proposed specifications for new machines. After the specifications are set, local election boards will have to choose between optical scan and digital machines. Manufacturers will be under the gun to produce enough of these machines, election workers will have to be trained and voters, including more than 429,000 in Monroe County, will need education.

In counties that select optical scanners, voters must learn how to carefully fill in standardized-test-style bubbles to make sure that their votes count. Digital machines, which are similar to the lever-style machines, still take getting used to. The state Board of Elections has said that the selection, installation and education process would take at least 18 months. It shouldn't be rushed.

Connecticut, which is also behind schedule but further ahead than New York, will be using its old machines in the November elections to avoid confusion. It has asked the federal government to be spared penalties. New York ought to make a similar request and the federal government should oblige.

Forcing states to rush to meet this deadline could result in just the kind of election confusion HAVA was enacted to avoid.

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