ALBANY - New York's Senate and Assembly failed to agree Thursday on just how to fix state legislation adopted two years ago requiring replacement of lever-action voting machines statewide by Sept. 1 of this year.
It was the latest development in New York's tortured response to the federal Help America Vote Act, adopted after the disputed 2000 presidential election in an attempt to replace the nation's old voting machines with high-tech systems.
New York's state Board of Election officials have been saying for months there is no way the Sept. 1 deadline can be met because of delays in certifying the high-tech machines that might replace the mechanical machines that were introduced in New York more than a century ago.
Board officials have said they hope to have new machines available by the fall of 2008.
A proposal from the Assembly's Democratic majority would shift the deadline to March 1, 2008.
That would allow New York to use the lever action machines for this year's elections and for the state's presidential primary on Feb. 5 of next year.
But a bill being pushed by the state Senate's Republican majority would simply remove the Sept. 1, 2007 deadline and not set a new one.
Thursday was scheduled to be the final day of the Legislature's regular session for 2007, but lawmakers are expected to return to deal with other unresolved issues before the end of the year and possibly before Sept. 1.
“They have to do something,” said Lee Daghlian, a spokesman for the state Board of Elections.
Daghlian said that election officials expect to use the lever-action machines for this fall's elections and for the presidential primary next year.
Asked if a failure to amend the current law might force election officials to use paper ballots instead, Daghlian said: “That is one the lawyers would have to answer.”
A bill memorandum accompanying the Senate proposal warned that the “cost of running an election without the existing mechanical elections equipment is potentially huge” while “the existing accessible equipment can be operated by (local) boards at a nominal cost.”
Barbara Bartoletti, a spokeswoman for the state League of Women Voters, said paper ballots might be a good idea.
“That would be perfectly fine with us. They are used in many places,” she said. “They are recountable and they are accurate.”
New York has been the slowest state in the nation to comply with HAVA provisions that were designed to have everything in place nationwide for the 2006 elections at the latest.
New York was eventually sued by the U.S. Justice Department and under a court-approved settlement state officials put new machinery in place for use by handicapped voters in 2006.
Other voters continued to use the lever-action machinery.
New York's state Board of Election officials have been saying for months there is no way the Sept. 1 deadline can be met because of delays in certifying the high-tech machines that might replace the mechanical machines that were introduced in New York more than a century ago.
Board officials have said they hope to have new machines available by the fall of 2008.
A proposal from the Assembly's Democratic majority would shift the deadline to March 1, 2008.
That would allow New York to use the lever action machines for this year's elections and for the state's presidential primary on Feb. 5 of next year.
But a bill being pushed by the state Senate's Republican majority would simply remove the Sept. 1, 2007 deadline and not set a new one.
Thursday was scheduled to be the final day of the Legislature's regular session for 2007, but lawmakers are expected to return to deal with other unresolved issues before the end of the year and possibly before Sept. 1.
“They have to do something,” said Lee Daghlian, a spokesman for the state Board of Elections.
Daghlian said that election officials expect to use the lever-action machines for this fall's elections and for the presidential primary next year.
Asked if a failure to amend the current law might force election officials to use paper ballots instead, Daghlian said: “That is one the lawyers would have to answer.”
A bill memorandum accompanying the Senate proposal warned that the “cost of running an election without the existing mechanical elections equipment is potentially huge” while “the existing accessible equipment can be operated by (local) boards at a nominal cost.”
Barbara Bartoletti, a spokeswoman for the state League of Women Voters, said paper ballots might be a good idea.
“That would be perfectly fine with us. They are used in many places,” she said. “They are recountable and they are accurate.”
New York has been the slowest state in the nation to comply with HAVA provisions that were designed to have everything in place nationwide for the 2006 elections at the latest.
New York was eventually sued by the U.S. Justice Department and under a court-approved settlement state officials put new machinery in place for use by handicapped voters in 2006.
Other voters continued to use the lever-action machinery.
Citizen
Hot Jobs
New! Off the Menu
The Citizens' Say
Post your comment - click hereThere are No comments posted.