http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=464276&category=STATE&BCCode=&newsdate=3/24/2006
March 24, 2006
By JAMES M. ODATO, Capitol bureau
ALBANY -- A judge on Thursday gave the state Board of
Elections until April 10 to explain how it intends to comply with federal
voting rules.
U.S. District Court Judge Gary L. Sharpe set the deadline in
granting the Department of Justice's injunction against the state.
Sharpe also rejected attempts by several third parties to
intervene in the suit, which the DOJ lodged March 1 over the state's failure to
comply with the Help America Vote Act.
Under HAVA, the state was supposed to replace its lever
machines by this year's elections and create a computerized voter registry.
However, the state is still figuring out how to certify new machines that
counties would purchase, and developing the database system, making 2006 deadlines
highly unlikely.
Lee Daghlian, a spokesman for the elections board, said the
state will submit an interim "Plan B" plan within the next 17 days
with several temporary fixes. The plan calls for certifying ballot marking
devices or vote-by-phone systems for the disabled that would be purchased by
counties instead of new voting machines. Meanwhile, the state will set up an
interim voter databank. It would use the old lever machines this fall.
Some county elections officials say they've yet to see the phone
voting systems, and worry about spending money on temporary solutions when
they'll still have to buy new voting machines.
The state and counties are slated to get $220 million in
federal funds to comply with HAVA.
"Some say they can do it, some say they can't,"
Daghlian said. He said the counties could come up with some other ideas or
petition the court. "The feds are suing us, not the county boards,"
he said.
Assemblyman Keith Wright, D-Manhattan, who helped develop
the law on New York's voting system criteria, said Plan B heads the state
closer to its goals.
"Is it perfect? No," Wright said. "But with
all the partisan bickering we had over HAVA it will give us a way to gradually
ease into full compliance."
Bo Lipari, leader of a citizens group pushing for paper
ballots and optical scanning machines, said Sharpe's order is reasonable and
the delays may benefit New York, allowing other states that met the HAVA
deadline to deal with any bugs.
He said the board of elections and Legislature share blame
for delays, but the federal government is also at fault for taking months to
provide guidance.
A spokesman for the DOJ did not return a call.
James M. Odato can be reached at 454-5083 or by e-mail at
jodato@timesunion.com.
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Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation, Albany, N.Y.
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