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ALBANY---Saying that New York State "is further behind" every other state in complying with requirements to modernize its voting system, the U.S. Department of Justice has threatened to sue the state.
The state has failed to comply with bringing new voting machines to the state and other requirements of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). So far, the state hasn't even decided what kind of voting machines will be certified and it is doubtful that decisions will be made in time to implement the new machines for the fall's primary elections.
There was a deadline of Jan. 1 for the state to create a statewide database of registered voters. The state missed it.
A letter to state officials by DOJ said that the federal agency had authorized a lawsuit against the state for failure to comply with the law. According to the letter, DOJ said it hoped to settle the matter by negotiating a court order with the state rather than go to court but that they were "prepared to file a complaint if the matter is not resolved expeditiously.
A sum of $2.3 billion in federal aid was awarded to the states and territories to modernize voting machines and update the elections process. The changes to improve the voting system was made following the 2000 presidential elections and recount which was necessitated.
The state has to date received $220 million that was earmarked to replace the 20,000 old voting machines statewide and for training of election officials in how to use new machines but so far, the money is just sitting collecting interest and the state has taken no steps to create the voter database, purchase and implement the new machines or provide the training.
"I am not the least bit surprised by the US Department of Justice's action against New York State for not complying with the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) regulations", state Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) said. "Since its initial passage in 2002, each state was obligated to comply with the new federal mandate and the state legislative leadership dragged their feet for three years. The compromise that was passed at the end of the 2005 session punted the responsibility for administering HAVA to the localities. This was poor public policy that was the result of years of apathy and as such, we are considered to be the worst non-compliant state," the senator said.
"HAVA was an opportunity that comes around only three or four times a century and New York State has effectively squandered our chance to modernize our voting equipment", Krueger said. "Still, it appears that DOJ is willing to work with us in order to come to a fair settlement. It's anybody's guess what will happen as a result - federal fines, losing HAVA funding, federal court, a DOJ implementation plan. This soap opera will eventually come to a conclusion, so stay tuned."
According to state BOE officials, it's uncertain when the state could be able to have the new voting machines in place and for election officials to complete the necessary training.
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer declined comment about the federal action.
Various groups and officials including the New York Public Interest Research Group say that the state should ask for a federal waiver that would allow them to wait until the 2007 election to implement the new voting machines.
Legislation in regard to complying with the HAVA regulations was delayed until last fall due to arguments between the Republican-controlled Senate, the Democrat-controlled Assembly and Gov. George Pataki. Pataki signed the legislation which allows localities to decide what kind of machine to buy as long as it meets state standards.
And there lies one of the glitches. So far, the Board of Elections still hasn't set the standards for voting machines.
In addition to the public hearing held Friday in Putnam County about standards for the new machines, hearings have been held in Rochester, Albany and New York City.
"Our obligation is to make sure that voting works in New York state and to insure the integrity of the system," Peter Kosinski, co-executive director of the state Board of Elections told the participants from Putnam, Westchester, Rockland and Dutchess counties who attended the hearing at the Putnam County Emergency Services building in Carmel.
The majority of the speakers supported certification of optical-scan voting systems over the touch-screen ones they consider more vulnerable to being hacked or maliciously programmed to change votes. 1-14-06
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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