New York, 2003-2004
10. New York Editorials, News, Documents of 2003-2004
Important Statements, 2004
Mayor Bloomberg's Speech on Election Reform, 11/10/04 and
commentary
Testimony of Douglas A. Kellner
to the NYC Voter Assistance Commission on Dec. 7, 2004.
Legislation, 2004
On February 23, 2004, the NY State Assembly
passed a package of bills on voting, including Assemblyman Keith Wright's
Voting Systems Standards Act of 2004,
A8847-A. For commentary on the bill, click here.
On the same day, the NY State Senate passed
Senator Thomas Morahan's Voting Machines Modernization Act of 2004,
S6207
. The bills were quite different, although both
required a voter-verified paper audit trail.
These bills required a 2% and 3%
surprise random recount of ballots, respectively.
Here is the text of
S6207.
with suggestions
for greater security and transparency.
However, our November 2 election experience warns us
that once computers are used,
election integrity is at peril, and these suggestions would be insufficient to protect us.
Because the Assembly and Senate bills were different,
they needed to be reconciled.
A HAVA Conference Committee briefly considered
voting system standards in May, 2004,
but was unable to continue.
As of December, 2004, next year's legislation is under consideration.
Fast action may occur when the legislature convenes again in January.
Voting systems are not likely to be considered until then.
The HAVA Conference Committee consisted of 5
Assemblymembers and 5 state Senators:
The Assemblymembers were:
Keith Wright,
Chair of the Assembly Election Law Committee
RoAnn Destito
Kevin Cahill
Helene Weinstein
William Barclay
The state Senators were:
Thomas Morahan, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Elections
Serphin Maltese
Nicholas Spano
George Maziarz
John Sabini
News, 2004
Lobbyists spent over $854,000 to push evoting in New York,
New York Newsday, Dec. 19, 2004.
July 13, 2004, Rally in Albany
New Yorkers supported verified voting at a rally on the steps of the State Capitol Building
in Albany, NY on Tuesday, July 13, on the nationwide "Computer Ate My
Vote" Day of Action. The rally was organized by New Yorkers for Verified
Voting (www.NYVV.org) and Common Cause NY. http://www.NYVV.org
has the news and photo coverage. Speech by Teresa
Hommel.
February 23, 2004
On February 23, 2004, the NY State Assembly passed a package of bills on voting,
including Assemblyman Keith Wright's Voting Systems Standards Act of 2004,
A8847-A.
On the same day, the NY State Senate passed Senator Thomas Morahan's
Voting Machines Modernization Act of 2004,
S6207.
The bills are quite different, although both require a voter-verified paper audit trail.
The two bills must now be reconciled in a conference committee, which
began working during the week
April 25-30, 2004. Some are worried that New York might not finish the
process in time to receive the HAVA money.
The conference committee began considering voting system standards on Monday,
May 24, 2004.
What to do -- Pick up the phone and call your state Assemblyperson and state
Senator, and ask them to visit this web page and read the sections above. You
can determine who represents you here.
The NY State Assembly's
announcement
of their legislative package on voting.
The press release Assembly
Action Highlights, The Week Ending February 27, 2004, announces
"Assembly Passes Election Reforms (HAVA) To Modernize NY Voting
System."
Citizens Union Reports
The
Citizens Union has prepared three
reports about the packages of bills passed by the NY State Assemby and by the
NY State Senate: Summary of the bills passed by
each, Comparison of the bills passed by each,
and an evaluation of the bills compared to
the Citizens Union position .
News Reports
Watchdog Group Asks Albany to Give
Budget Time to Breathe By Al Baker, The New York Times, July 9, 2004.
Albany Legislature Set to Adjourn
Without a Budget, or Much Legislating By Michael Cooper, The New York
Times, June 21, 2004.
A Legislator Committed to Election Reform By
Lynda Richardson, The New York Times, May 20, 2004.
Disabled Protesters Block Doors at End of
Hearing on Elections By Al Baker, The New York Times, May 19, 2004.
Voting Machines for New York
Editorial, New York Times, May 18, 2004. As highly paid lobbyists have
descended on Albany to fight for rules that favor the voting-machine companies
that hired them, the Legislature has approached the critical question of voting
machine standards in slow motion. ... To ensure the integrity of the voting
system, the Legislature should require that all electronic voting machines in
the state produce a voter-verifiable paper trail. It should also mandate manual
audits of a reasonable percentage of the state's voting machines to check their
tabulations against the paper records. The Legislature should also insist that
manufacturers reveal their computer code to state and local officials to show
that there are no software errors or secret instructions to steal votes.
Electronic Voting Plan For Apple Next Year By
David Seifman, March 9, 2004. New York Post Online Edition.
The Times Union, Jan. 13, 2004, reported:
"After eight months of stop-and-go negotiations, state Democratic and
Republican leaders have agreed to reappoint Democrat Carol Berman to the state
Board of Elections. Berman's two-year term as a commissioner expired in May,
but Republican Gov. George Pataki refused to reinstate her.... That left the
four-member body, usually evenly split with two Democrats and two Republicans,
in GOP hands."
Newsday
, Dec. 9, 2003, reported:
New York expects to receive about $140 million in federal money to replace its
19,800 mechanical voting machine under provisions of the HAVA legislation
enacted in the wake of the 2000 election problems.
So far, the state has received $66 million from the HAVA program, but the money
has been tied up in a dispute between the Democratic majority of the state
Assembly and Republican Gov. George Pataki over control of the funds, the
selection of new voting machines and voter identification requirements.
Lee Daghlian, a spokesman for the state Board of Elections, which is overseeing the
HAVA process in New York, said Tuesday that the board hopes to issue a request
for proposals to voting machine manufacturers by early next year. But Daghlian
said federal officials must first set standards for such machines and he said
the continuing disagreement between the administration and the Assembly's
Democratic majority could also slow things down.
The new voting machines are supposed to be ready for the 2006 statewide elections.
10.A. New York State HAVA Implementation Task Force
Minority Report In Response to State Implementation Plan
The
introduction to this document begins:
"The
Help America Vote Act of 2002 ("HAVA") holds great promise to improve
election administration in New York State. However, unless the law is properly
implemented there is great peril that decades of long fought reforms to
enfranchise the state's diverse populations will be thwarted at the polls.
Peter S. Kosinski, Deputy Director of the State Board of Elections, acting on
his own putative authority, issued a State Implementation Plan ("SIP"
or "Plan") pursuant to section 254 of HAVA.
"For
the reasons stated herein, several members of the Task Force now find it
necessary to issue this minority report to address many issues not reached by
the Final State Implementation Plan."
To
read the entire report, click here.
State Senator Liz Krueger
wrote
Give Voters Easier Time at the Polls
report
called "Making Votes Count: The Help America Vote Act and the Future of Democracy
in New York" which explains some of the problems and offers solutions.
Kathleen
Brady reveals some of the problems:
Election Reform in New York Is a Tough Call
Newsday.com, September 25, 2003
More
on the NY State Implementation Plan: New
York submits thin-on-details vote overhaul plan Newsday.com, August 27, 2003.
10.B. Citizens' Coalition
The
New York State Citizens' Coalition on HAVA Implementation and the Citywide
Coalition for Voter Participation published a Statement of Principles on New Voting Machines For NY
State. The statement calls for new voting machines to provide a
"voter-verifiable paper audit trail" and incorporate
"data-to-voice" technology to ensure full access by all. Your
organization can endorse the statement.
Here
is the December 9, 2003, press release
announcing the Statement of Principles. News coverage included Newsday, The
Times Union, Capital
News 9, and WSTM-TV.
Testimony
of the New York State Citizens' Coalition on HAVA Implementation on the Draft
State Implementation Plan before the New York State HAVA Implementation Task
Force on July 10, 2003.
10.C. News about New Yorkers Making a Difference!
Statement
before the Governmental Operations Committee
of the New York City Council, October 18, 2004.
Don't Hand Democracy Over to Computers
UU World, November/December 2004.
The
Poughkeepsie Journal reports that
Expert doubts reliability of e-voting. December 18, 2003.
On
October 10, 2003, the Schuyler County Legislature unanimously passed a resolution requesting New York State elected
officials to amend our HAVA State Implementation Plan to require that all
voting systems purchased by the State produce a voter-verifiable paper trail.
We believe this is the first resolution of its kind in New York State. Ruth S.
Young, Schuyler county legislator, publicized the issue and worked for its
approval.
The PROBLEM With Electronic Voting Machines , a report by freedom@riseup.net.
The
Ithaca Journal tells NY State to "Slow down and sweat the details" on
State voting overhaul.
In
September, 2003, the New York Women's Bar Association newsletter (PDF) published
testimony
presented by Teresa Hommel to the New York State Task Force on HAVA
Implementation, and an article,
"Direct Recording Electronic Voting Machines: Ease of Use vs. Ease of
Computer-based Fraud."
10.D. US Senate and House of Representatives
House of Representatives
To
speak to your Representative's office in Washington, call 1-800-839-5276, and
ask for him or her by name.
A
bill in the House of Representatives sponsored by Representative Rush Holt, H.R. 2239, "The Voter
Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003," would require
computerized voting machines used in the 2004 elections to provide a
voter-verifiable paper trail, as well as accessibility for the disabled.
19
of New York's 29 Representatives are co-sponsors
of HR 2239. They are Gary L. Ackerman, Timothy H. Bishop, Joseph Crowley, Eliot
L. Engel, Maurice D. Hinchey, Steve Israel, Nita M. Lowey, Carolyn B. Maloney,
Carolyn McCarthy, Michael R. McNulty, Gregory W. Meeks, Jerrold Nadler, Major
R. Owens, Charles Rangel, Jose E. Serrano, Louise McIntosh Slaughter, Edolphus
Towns Nydia Velazquez, and Anthony D. Weiner. If one of them represents you,
please thank them (sample
letter).
If
your Representative is not a co-sponsor, please contact them via phone, email
or fax and ask them to sign on as a co-sponsor (sample letter). Send an email or fax
to your Representative, courtesy of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
US Senate
To speak to your Senator's office in Washington, call 1-800-839-5276, and ask for
him or her by name.
A bill in the US Senate sponsored by Senator Bob Graham (D-FL),
S 1980,
is a companion bill to Representative Rush Holt's HR 2239.
Both bills have the same name,
The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003,
and the same text. We urge the passage of S 1980.
Senator
Charles Schumer (D-NY) is a co-sponsor of S 1980.
Protest
the RECORD Act co-sponsored by our own Senators Clinton and Schumer!
On
March 10, 2004, Senator Clinton and Senator Bob Graham announced a new bill
called the RECORD Act that would deal with security of electronic voting
systems and election integrity. On April 8, 2004, Senator Bob Graham introduced
the RECORD Act, number S 2313.
Unfortunately,
RECORD does not require voter-verified paper ballots from all DREs in November,
2004, or the use of interim paper ballots that can be counted by hand or
optical scanner. Instead, RECORD provides a back door for the states -- they
can simply claim that it is impossible for them to comply with these
requirements, and then they don't have to! This bill is an outrage!
RECORD is cosponsored by both Senators Clinton and Schumer.
Call Sen. Schumer's office, 1-800-839-5276, and ask him to withdraw support
from RECORD and maintain his co-sponsorship of Senator Bob Graham's "Voter
Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act" S 1980.
Call Sen. Clinton's office, 1-800-839-5276, and ask her to withdraw support
from RECORD and to co-sponsor Senator Bob Graham's "Voter Confidence and
Increased Accessibility Act" S 1980.
More commentary on RECORD.
The
RECORD Act is Senator Clinton's second failure to protect American voters and
ensure integrity in our upcoming November, 2004 election. In December, 2003,
Clinton introduced PADA, the Protecting American Democracy Act. PADA was vague and
allowed but did not require voting machines to provide the
capacity for independent audit of final tallies.
We opposed PADA, and asked Clinton to make her bill the same as the Voter
Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of Senator Bob Graham, S1980, and
Representative Rush Holt, HR2239, or to co-sponsor Senator Bob Graham's bill.
RECORD is her response.
10.E. State Board of Elections
NY State Board of Elections
10.F. Local Level
New York City Election Watch
Heard it at the Board I
Heard it at the Board II
Local governments can pass resolutions and lobby state officials.
One example is the
Schuyler County (New York) Resolution for a Voter-Verified Paper Trail. On Tuesday,
October 14th, 2003, the Schuyler County Legislature passed this resolution
favoring voter-verified paper trail and urging New York State to include that
in its HAVA implementation plan.
Another
example is the New York City Council ,
in which Councilman Bill Perkins, Chair of the Governmental Operations
Committee, introduced 8 resolutions supporting the 8 bills introduced at the
state level and passed by the Assembly in 2003. The City Council passed all 8
resolutions on Sept. 30, 2003.
The
resolution numbers are 1030-2003 through 1037-2003. Resolution
1037-2003 begins: "Resolution urging the Senate to pass and the
Governor to sign the Voting Systems Standards Act of 2003 (A.8847), a bill that
would implement certain mandates of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and
drastically improve the electoral process in New York State by, among other
things, establishing new standards for voting machines, ensuring access to the
ballot by voters with disabilities, adopting a single state-wide voting machine
through a competitive bidding process and requiring a voter verifiable audit
trail."
To
see the details about these resolutions, go to the web site of the City Council
(see above). Pass your mouse over the word "Legislation" on the left.
That will cause three choices to appear, and you can click on
"Resolutions." Enter the resolution number in the box labeled
"Search Resolutions" and click "Search." The page with your
search results allows you to request to see the resolution itself, its
sponsors, and other information.
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