NEW YORK VOTERS: HAVE YOU SIGNED UP YET? (PLEASE K&R!)

[Bill Bored]

Please keep this kicked and pass on to everyone you know in New York who cares about voting:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=169&topic_id=8323&mesg_id=8323

[Muttocracy]

1. thanks. nt

[mak3cats]

2. Done! I was the Democratic representative...

...when we certified my city's voting machines just before the recent primaries. It was fascinating to see how they work and just how secure they really are.

[Bill Bored]

3. Thanks mak3cats!

If you are in Erie County, you have AutoMarks for disability access, so it's very easy for your county to keep its levers. AutoMarks do NOT count votes.

If you want to raise this issue after the election with your Congressional Rep., Louise Slaughter, it might help with the DoJ case. They are suing NY for HAVA non-compliance, but once all the ballot markers are fully deployed, their case gets pretty weak.

[mak3cats]

6. I'm Niagara County, and unfortunately Reynolds is my rep...

...but hopefully we'll have a Democrat come November. (Please, please, please...)

[Bill Bored]

5. Please tell us more about this! nt

[mak3cats]

7. Assuming you mean to describe the process...

Four people were present: the voting machine custodians (one Dem, one Rep), who maintain and prep the machines prior to certification, and representatives from both parties. (Any candidate can also observe if they wish.) The party reps then jointly verify each machine for a whole list of items: e.g., that all candidate names, races and parties are reflected correctly, that all the levers work (or are locked out) properly, that the curtain and lights work, that there's a pencil available for write-ins, etc. The last thing checked is that all the counters are reset to zero after our test voting. (We check and reset them, lock down the counters, then check them again.) The top of the machine is then cranked down into the bottom and metal-strapped until Election Day. Each machine has four keys which serve different purposes; only two are given to poll workers, so there's no access to any of the inner workings of the machines at the actual polling locations.

Checking the levers was the most time-consuming part of the process. Each individual lever gets tested to make sure it works. We check to make sure that only the correct number of levers in any race can be pulled down at one time (usually one, but there are those "Vote for any two" type of elections). Party lines are tested for primaries (if the machine is set to Democrat, then levers on any other line are locked out). My fingertip was actually somewhat sore at the end of the certification, and we had only about 30 machines to test.

And just think I get to do this all again in a few short weeks! (And I'm happy to do it - democracy lives forever!)

[Bill Bored]

8. Thanks! Excellent, and virtually IMPOSSIBLE to do with SOFTWARE! nt

[Wilms]

9. Thanks for that.

I like the part about all the keys. The superiority of the levers is increasingly obvious to me.

You might like this article.

Machining the Vote: A brief history of lever voting machines

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=504855

[Bill Bored]

10. kick nt

[Wilms]

4. k&r n/t