If Idaho Can Do It, Why not New York?
By: Mark Poloncarz
Date: November 30, 2005
Yesterday the State of Idaho announced that it was spending $6,000,000 to purchase 932 new voting machines to be used by the blind and handicapped so they may cast their votes independently. Funding for the purchase is coming from the federal government pursuant to the Help America Vote Act (”HAVA”). To read up on this story click
HERE.
HAVA requires that all states have new machines in place by the 2006 primary election. Unlike Idaho, and most other states for that matter, New York has yet to even decide what machines will be used in the upcoming election. As a result, a special committee of the Board of Elections is meeting now to decide upon what machines may be used in New York. After that determination is made, local counties can then begin the process of purchasing machines from the approved machine list.
Under HAVA, the federal government will reimburse states and localities for most of the cost associated with purchasing the new machines, as is happening in Idaho. New York is slated to receive over $220,000,000. However, if the decision of which machines to use and subsequent machine purchases are not made soon, the federal government will pull back some of its reimbursement offer, and perhaps all, leaving the states/localities paying for the bill.
Just last week an
official in Staten Island called Albany’s delay “unconscionable,” and requested that the Board of Elections issue its approved machine list as soon as possible. So, unless Albany acts quickly, local governments probably will miss the HAVA deadline for introducing the new machines, and moreover, be forced to purchase new voting machines without the possibility of federal reimbursement even during this time of tight budgets.
This is an issue that should have been decided upon already - the right of every American to vote using machines that work, are accessible to the disabled, and ones that guarantee that all votes are counted properly. Isn’t it about time that we “close the curtain” on the antiquated lever machines, and move our voting machines from the 19th to the 21st Century. If Idaho can do it, why can’t New York?
© Mark C. Poloncarz, 2005.
The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent those of the WNY Coalition for Progress.
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