Michelle
09-27-2006, 07:12 PM
Machines Get High Marks, If Used (http://www.brooklyndowntownstar.com/StoryDisplay.asp?PID=4&NewsStoryID=4569)
By Shane Miller
Looking to end the slow process of complying with a federal mandate to modernize voting systems and make it easier for disabled citizens to vote, lawmakers in Albany ultimately decided not to act at all. Instead, in May, they pushed the responsibility of choosing and implementing new voting machines on to individual counties across the state.
That decision has predictably set off a new wave of lobbying by voting machine companies looking to have their makes and models chosen by county heads. Last week, representatives from New York-based Sequoia Voting Systems were demonstrating their Advantage Plus Touch Screen voting machine at the Queens Independent Living Center in Astoria.
The machine has a touch screen that can be enlarged for people with poor eyesight, and it is equipped with a handset that can operate the machine for people who can't reach the screen. It also offers audio assistance for the blind or illiterate, and can assist people in their native language. The handset is also equipped with technology that can accommodate sip-and-puff devices, buddy buttons, neck loops, and other assistive devices.
The machine is a Direct Record Electronic voter system, but a paper ballot is printed for voters to check that their choices were registered correctly. The paper ballot is then dropped into a secure ballot box in case there needs to be a recount.
In 2002, the federal government passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), mandating that states modernize their voting systems. Four years hence, federal officials say that New York has been one of the slowest states to comply. Currently a disabled voter has to go to a special polling place equipped to service them, or go to a regular polling site and be assisted by poll workers.
"There is nothing wrong with that, but do you want to be singled out just because you are disabled?" asked Larry Tovell of Sequoia. "With this machine, whether you are disabled or not, you get to vote on the same machine."
"Right now you have to pull a lever, but what if you don't have that mobility?" wondered Mike Sidell, secretary of the board of directors of Queens Independent Living. "This seems to be the machine I feel the Board of Elections should go with."
The cost for each machine is $8,900. If the technology is certified by the Board of Elections, then each individual county would decide whether or not to use the Advatage Plus, or go with another certified machine.
Kevin Mullarkey, who sits on Community Board 1 in Queens and is disabled himself, was impressed with the demonstration.
"Disabled people who can't pull the lever have to have two poll workers go into the booth with them," said Mullarkey, who, incidentally, is also a poll worker. "If you are disabled, your ballot isn't private."
When New York failed to comply with HAVA deadlines, they reached an agreement with the Department of Justice to set up one "super poll site" in each borough, which would have machines that would allow disabled voters to cast their ballot in private.
Last week, the City Council praised the feedback from voters who tested the unspecified accessible voting machines during the primary elections. According to a report released by the Council's Oversight and Investigative Committee, the machines received high marks.
"The Board of Elections should be commended," said the committee's chair, Councilman Eric Gioia. "We should make sure that all New Yorkers, especially those with disabilities, have the opportunity to vote using these new machines."
That's the good news, however. The bad news is that, despite outreach efforts by the Board of Elections, very few disabled voters actually used the machines. The investigation, which surveyed 160 primary voters at the five accessible sites, found that many of them chose it because it was convenient, not because it was equipped to accommodate disabled voters.
"That's why were calling on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to help conduct outreach to disabled voters, and ensure that Access-a-Ride service is fully available to disabled voters on Election Day," said Gioia in a statement issued last week.
The stance was praised by disability advocates.
"Only be removing the barriers to equal participation can all our citizens be truly represented by government," said Lawrence Carter-Long, network coordinator for Disabilities Network of New York City.
PHOTO CAPTION: Larry Tovell of Sequoia Voting Systems demonstrates a touch screen machine that makes it easier for disabled voters to cast their ballot.
By Shane Miller
Looking to end the slow process of complying with a federal mandate to modernize voting systems and make it easier for disabled citizens to vote, lawmakers in Albany ultimately decided not to act at all. Instead, in May, they pushed the responsibility of choosing and implementing new voting machines on to individual counties across the state.
That decision has predictably set off a new wave of lobbying by voting machine companies looking to have their makes and models chosen by county heads. Last week, representatives from New York-based Sequoia Voting Systems were demonstrating their Advantage Plus Touch Screen voting machine at the Queens Independent Living Center in Astoria.
The machine has a touch screen that can be enlarged for people with poor eyesight, and it is equipped with a handset that can operate the machine for people who can't reach the screen. It also offers audio assistance for the blind or illiterate, and can assist people in their native language. The handset is also equipped with technology that can accommodate sip-and-puff devices, buddy buttons, neck loops, and other assistive devices.
The machine is a Direct Record Electronic voter system, but a paper ballot is printed for voters to check that their choices were registered correctly. The paper ballot is then dropped into a secure ballot box in case there needs to be a recount.
In 2002, the federal government passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), mandating that states modernize their voting systems. Four years hence, federal officials say that New York has been one of the slowest states to comply. Currently a disabled voter has to go to a special polling place equipped to service them, or go to a regular polling site and be assisted by poll workers.
"There is nothing wrong with that, but do you want to be singled out just because you are disabled?" asked Larry Tovell of Sequoia. "With this machine, whether you are disabled or not, you get to vote on the same machine."
"Right now you have to pull a lever, but what if you don't have that mobility?" wondered Mike Sidell, secretary of the board of directors of Queens Independent Living. "This seems to be the machine I feel the Board of Elections should go with."
The cost for each machine is $8,900. If the technology is certified by the Board of Elections, then each individual county would decide whether or not to use the Advatage Plus, or go with another certified machine.
Kevin Mullarkey, who sits on Community Board 1 in Queens and is disabled himself, was impressed with the demonstration.
"Disabled people who can't pull the lever have to have two poll workers go into the booth with them," said Mullarkey, who, incidentally, is also a poll worker. "If you are disabled, your ballot isn't private."
When New York failed to comply with HAVA deadlines, they reached an agreement with the Department of Justice to set up one "super poll site" in each borough, which would have machines that would allow disabled voters to cast their ballot in private.
Last week, the City Council praised the feedback from voters who tested the unspecified accessible voting machines during the primary elections. According to a report released by the Council's Oversight and Investigative Committee, the machines received high marks.
"The Board of Elections should be commended," said the committee's chair, Councilman Eric Gioia. "We should make sure that all New Yorkers, especially those with disabilities, have the opportunity to vote using these new machines."
That's the good news, however. The bad news is that, despite outreach efforts by the Board of Elections, very few disabled voters actually used the machines. The investigation, which surveyed 160 primary voters at the five accessible sites, found that many of them chose it because it was convenient, not because it was equipped to accommodate disabled voters.
"That's why were calling on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to help conduct outreach to disabled voters, and ensure that Access-a-Ride service is fully available to disabled voters on Election Day," said Gioia in a statement issued last week.
The stance was praised by disability advocates.
"Only be removing the barriers to equal participation can all our citizens be truly represented by government," said Lawrence Carter-Long, network coordinator for Disabilities Network of New York City.
PHOTO CAPTION: Larry Tovell of Sequoia Voting Systems demonstrates a touch screen machine that makes it easier for disabled voters to cast their ballot.