N.Y. voting problem is blessing in disguise

[kster]

The Tonawanda News

Be careful what you wish for, because you might get it. This is what the Help America Vote Act has the potential to become. We supposedly need new voting machines even though New York’s present mechanical ones are far superior to those of many other states, including Florida’s butterfly ballots. If we do replace them, they should not be electronic machines.

The reasons include deliberately bad ergonomic designs to confuse able-bodied voters, let alone the elderly and disabled who have special needs. An exhibit of these voting machines was on display in New York City a few years ago; this was presented on Bill Moyer’s “Now” program on PBS.

Even more disturbing is how easily they can be hacked, and they do not leave a paper trail. Diebold, the largest manufacturers of electronic voting machines, is the most hackable and unreliable of them all. In California, it was shown how flawed Diebold was when the machines malfunctioned in that state’s March 2004 primary elections. After exposure by state officials, Diebold was later decertified for the November elections. Another concern: some electronic voting machine companies might be foreign owned or could be bought by foreigners. Remember the UAE ports deal.

Since they leave no paper trail, there is no permanent hard copy record to fall back on for recounts, especially in close elections. More practical would be a paper ballot that takes no rocket scientist to figure out if there are technical problems. And I don’t mean the butterfly ballot, but a ballot with large print and check boxes to be selected that can be used by both the able bodied and the disabled, and the selection would be made in a secluded area before deposit in a ballot box. Canada has used the paper ballot for years with little problem.


Susan R. Wilke

North Tonawand


http://www.tonawanda-news.com/opinion/local_story_097093232.html?keyword=topstory

[Cooley Hurd]

1. K&R - our (NY's) mechanical machines are like car odometers...

...if you screw with them, you leave tell-tale marks showing they've been screwed with. Not true with many electronic voting machines...

[ClintonTyree]

2. I'm going to miss our old voting machines.....

:cry: They worked great, never had a problem, were dependable as the day is long. We can't have that now, can we? :eyes: It was hard for Republicans to steal elections with machines like those, those damn Democrats kept on winning!
Have I said I'm really going to miss our old voting machines? Well, I'm really going to miss our old voting machines. They should have been a model for the rest of the country. I'm really going to miss them. Those old voting machines I mean. :cry:

[NYC]

3. I love our voting machines.

I want to keep them. Liz Krueger is fighting against the rigged machines.

I was unable to attend the meeting on Thursday night, April 6th. I'm sorry I missed it.

http://www.dfnyc.org/cms/node/87522/print

Will NY Get New Voting Machines? When? Which machines?

Featuring:

State Senator Liz Krueger <1>

Bo Lipari, Director of New Yorkers for Verified Voting <2>

Liz Krueger and Bo Lipari will speak on the battle over voting technology, and the campaign to keep elections in New York State free from fraud and deception.

Where: Community Church of New York
40 East 35 Street (between Park and Madison Avenues)

Donations for New Yorkers for Verified Voting will be accepted.

[FogerRox]

4. KNR for NY.

[spag68]

5. voting machines

here un NY are as easy to use as any in my 43 years of voting. Pa used to have similar ones, but I think they are gone.