Municipalities Must Choose Between DRE and Optical Scan Machine-- NY

[FogerRox]

Fights Ensue Over Voting Machine Selection
Municipalities Must Choose Between DRE and Optical Scan Machines

By Amanda Erickson
Spectator Staff Writer
September 22, 2005
As New York City gears up for the mayoral race on Nov. 8, the State and City Board of Elections are preparing for a much bigger challenge: figuring out what machines voters will use to cast their votes in the future.
While the state legislature’s “Help America Vote Act,” passed late in this session, provides federal funds for states to update their voting equipment once they develop a plan to implement the changes, it has left the major issue of what type of voting machines the city will buy.

Under the state’s new rules, each municipality, including the City, will be able to choose what type of machine to use. This choice has concerned several legislators and good government groups, who worry that not regulating machine choice will result in certain counties choosing less secure machines.

Barbara Bartoletti, executive director of the New York State League of Women Voters, is pushing the state to purchase optical scan machines, which require voters to fill out a paper ballot and then scan it into a machine, creating a verifiable paper trail.

[MissWaverly]

1. I would recommend optical scan

I saw my DRE default to Bush 5 times, of course, I had to show both
a voter's registration card and my Maryland's license to drive to qualify to vote (which is against Maryland state law for those who have voted in the past-so what else is new?), did that stop the crooked machines, NO, of course not! So what are the Republicans worried about, voter fraud! I think optical scanners would be harder to rig.

[aquart]

2. Paper ballots. If I can't have my lever.

This is crap. New York will wind up voting Republican in the presidentials if this goes thru. Because the machines lie and the judges defend not counting the paper.

[Wilms]

3. Here's the link.

http://www.columbiaspectator.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/09/22/43324d53bee23

[Bill Bored]

4. To date not ONE DRE or Op Scan system has been certified

by the NY Sate Board of Elections.
We should all tell them to keep up the good work!
(But if they don't eventually certify Op Scan, they're fired!)