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For Immediate Release: Monday, July 25th, 2005
Contact: Jordan Isenstadt (c) 516.991.3842 (w)
212.490.9535 (f) 212.490.2151
State Senator Liz Krueger Encourages Counties
Throughout New York
State to Adopt Optical
Scanning Technology
New York, NY –
State Senator Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) criticized the decision by the Legislature to
forego a uniform statewide standard for voting machinery, in favor of local
decision-making by county boards of elections in the legislation passed in
the final days of the legislative session. “I cannot say in full confidence
that the package of legislation we passed will guarantee a transparent,
well-administrated and reliable voting system for New York State,”
said Senator Krueger. “We are left with the unfortunate situation
wherein the Legislature punted difficult decisions to the county election
commissioners. I hope that the
counties will show greater wisdom than the Legislature by adopting optical
scanning technology, which studies have shown to be the most reliable voting
technology currently available.”
The Help America Vote Act
(HAVA), a federal law that was passed in response to the 2000 Bush-Gore
fiasco in Florida,
requires all states to upgrade their election procedures by January
2006. This includes updating voting
machines, registration processes, and poll worker training to ensure fair
elections at all levels. Since New York has complied
with the HAVA mandate, the state will receive close to $235 million in
federal funding.
New York was the last state in the union to complete their
HAVA legislation. The package of
legislation had languished in the Legislature for two years, but the body had
no choice but to act now for fear of losing out on crucial federal dollars.
“There is nothing more fundamental to a democracy than the right and ability
of its citizens to vote,” said Senator Krueger. “Too many New Yorkers see voting as an
obstacle and do not exercise their right as a result.”
An initial step that county
boards of election will have to take is to dispose of their aging
lever-action machines that made their world debut at a demonstration in Lockport, NY
in 1892. Concurrently, the counties
will have to choose between purchasing optical scanning voting machines, DRE
(Direct Recording Electronic) systems, or some other voting technology.
A recent Johns Hopkins
University report
demonstrated how easily DRE machines could be manipulated without
detection. It was for this very reason
that Senator Krueger introduced legislation that required all voting
machines to have a voter-verified paper trail. Voters would be able to visually confirm
their vote by reviewing a printout under glass. Additionally, Senator Krueger has
advocated for voting machines that have technology to make voting accessible
for the disabled as well as for New Yorkers with limited proficiency in
English. “In the final analysis, paper ballots marked on precinct-counted
optical scanners are the most reliable, user friendly and cost-effective of
the computer-based technologies available and they can be accompanied with
various language options and ballot marking devices for people with
disabilities. These machines are used in close to half of the counties across
America
and have the smallest occurrence of errors among all voting machines.
Finally, Optical scanners cost half of what DRE machines cost and this will
be welcomed by constituents and taxpayers” said Senator Krueger.
“Paper
ballots and optical scanners are a reliable, mature, accessible and auditable
technology that has been proven by its usage in 46% of counties around the United States,”
remarked Bo Lipari, Director of New Yorkers for Verified Voting.
Furthermore, Senator Krueger pointed to recent
stories coming out of Miami-Dade County in Florida
where the County
Board of Elections was
so dissatisfied with their three-year old, $24.5 million DRE machines that he
has formally recommended switching to optical scanners. “Obviously, Florida knows best
when it comes to electoral fraud. So
if they don’t trust DRE’s, than I certainly do not,” remarked Krueger.
While
many elected officials have not been particularly straight-forward about
their position on the voting machine question, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has
become an outspoken advocate for paperless elections. Bloomberg was quoted recently in several New York City
publications as being in support of technology without a paper trail. “It is unfortunate that Mayor Bloomberg is
under the delusion that paperless voting technology is safe and sound,” said Senator Krueger. “The voter-verified paper trail is the only
assurance that voters have that their vote was counted, and counted
correctly.”
Senator Krueger also denounced the millions being spent presently
by lobbyists to influence county commissioners on which machines to choose in
order to comply with HAVA guidelines. By leaving the choice up to the
counties to select their voting machines, Albany has opened the door for an
extensive, county-by-county lobbying campaign. “Voting machine manufacturers
produce both DRE machines, as well as optical scanners. Since DRE’s are far more expensive and
require greater maintenance, the lobbyists are being paid to push the DRE’s.
Lobbyists and manufacturers are clearly not prioritizing ensuring a New
Yorkers right to vote, but rather prioritizing their pocketbooks,” warned Senator
Krueger.
Procurement lobbying reform
legislation was passed during this legislative session, but ironically, the
law does not go into effect until 2006.
This effectively means that the voting machines campaign will be the
last non-transparent and unregulated lobbying effort. “New Yorkers deserve the right to know what
is being spent to influence which voting machines they will be voting on for
decades to come,” indicated Senator Krueger. “Unfortunately most of the lobbying process
so far has taken place in stealth.”
“We have an excellent
opportunity to repair an aspect of the democratic process in which New
Yorkers and many Americans have lost confidence. If we can bring about increasingly reliable
elections, it will restore faith in the process and provide the support that
will strengthen public policy initiatives,” concluded Senator Krueger. “It is of the highest importance that
county election commissioners recognize that New Yorkers deserve the best
voting system available and the data clearly points to optical scanners a
that system.”
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