Delay may prevent public's input on voting machines
By ANDREW BROWN    Oneida Dispatch    10/18/2005

 WAMPSVILLE - Because of delays by the federal government, Madison County voters may not get the chance to voice their opinions about the future of the county's voting system before it is replaced next year.

Although the county's board of elections commissioners must decide on a system to replace the lever voting machines currently used before the first federal election next year, they may not have time to hold any public meetings or forums to discuss the issue.

"I'm worried there is going to be an attempt to push this thing through way too quickly, without public info and comment," said James Goldstein, supervisor from the Town of Lebanon.

There has already been much debate over whether the county should adopt the direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machines or the optical scan paper ballot machines, when they have to replace the current lever voting systems to comply with the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002. The DRE machines are a touch screen process, similar to an ATM machine, while the optical scan system involves voters marking a paper ballot, which is then run through a machine to electronically tally the votes.

Goldstein is worried that the public will not have enough say in the decision between these two machines though. At a Sept. 23 meeting of the Madison County Board of Supervisors' Administration and Oversight Committee he proposed a resolution whereby the county's election commissioners, Lynne Jones (R) and Laura Costello (D), would agree to hold hearings about the two different machine choices once they are certified by both the state and federal government.

There may not be enough time to hold any hearings before the state needs a decision as to which machine Madison County will use though, Jones told Goldstein at the meeting.

"We are just worried that if we bring out information on a system that's not certified it's just going to confuse the public," Jones said on Monday.

Jones added she and her colleague were instructed by New York State legal counsel not to participate in any hearings before the machines are certified.

"There is nothing certified. There is nothing to have hearings on at this point," Jones said.

Before Jones and her colleague can make a decision on which system is a better choice for Madison County, they have to wait to see which machines pass both federal and state certification. She said the federal government is not expected to certify any machines until November or December, and then state certification could take three to four months after that.

With the first federal elections possibly coming in September, there may only be a few months for the commissioners to make a decision, leaving them no time to organize public hearings on the matter.

"We would have no problem having town meetings once machines are certified, but we've got to make sure that we have enough time," Jones said.

Goldstein, who strongly favors the optical scan paper ballot machines, wants to have hearings immediately, to make sure the voters understand the decision.

"I recommend that we have hearings now, and not wait for these machines to be certified, because we have a pretty good idea what the machines that are going to be submitted are, and we can take the public pulse now and not later," Goldstein said.

Although the decision will ultimately be made by Jones and Costello, Goldstein wants to make sure the public can voice their opinion on the matter, a step many have already taken. The organization New Yorkers for Verified Voting have advocated for the optical scan system, and many people have attended supervisors meetings to have their voices heard.

Goldstein questions the decision by the New York State Legislature to turn the voting machine decision over to the election commissioners in each county. He says not only are the commissioners not qualified to make technical decisions about complex electronic equipment, they are not elected by voters, which makes their decision removed from the realm of democracy.

"There is no opportunity for the average voter to participate in that process at all," Goldstein said, adding that he does not blame the elections commissioners, but thinks the state legislature is at fault.

There are other problems with timing beyond just the public response, Goldstein said. He is worried that if the vendors who sell the machines submit the DRE machines for certification a long time before the optical scan machines, the commissioners may choose the DRE machines because they have not been able to fully examine the other option. This, Goldstein said, would create a "false market," depriving elections commissioners of the information needed to make a well-informed decision.

Since the DRE machines cost more to install and maintain, Goldstein said, the vendors want the elections commissioners to choose the more profitable touch screen machines over the optical scan systems.

"Its about money," Goldstein said. "It's about using our democratic process for someone to squeeze a lot of money out of the taxpayers and I think its wrong."

As for the machines themselves, Goldstein says he has not found a single group, other than the vendors that sell them, that is recommending adoption of the DRE machines. He believes, along with New Yorkers for Verified Voting, that optical scan paper ballot machines are more accurate and provide a way to accurately recount votes.

"I don't think convenience should be a major issue when you are talking about voting," Goldstein said of one of the arguments in favor of the DRE machines. "It is more important that your vote count, and electronic voting machines have significant problems with accuracy."

Jones said she and Costello are going to wait for the certification process to finish before making a decision.

"When you pay for those machines, that is all the funding you are going to get," Jones said. "That is why we are checking into things very carefully, and we are not going to make any decisions until we know what has been certified."

Oneida County Board of Elections Commissioner Patricia Ann Di Spirito (R) said in August that she and her Democrat colleague, Angela Pedone Longo, were leaning toward adopting the DRE machines.

On Monday, Di Spirito said that she and Longo were busy with the current elections and have not had time to examine the debate over the two voting systems any further.

Goldstein believes Madison County officials should be doing more to inform its citizens of the future of their democratic process, and at least have a public forum on the matter.

Said Goldstein: "The lack of commitment to holding hearings no matter what is to me unacceptable."