As e-vendors undoubtedly know by now, New Yorkers are a tough audience.New Fix, But Voting Woes Linger
One Long Island election official labeled it the start of "HAVA hell."June 25, 2006
by Rick Brand
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Among the worries about the new systems are security, the amount of space needed, and whether counties will have to buy more machines because the capacity of computerized voting machines are far smaller than lever machines. The final question is whether Nassau and Suffolk can get delivery of 3,800 machines in time for next year's vote.
"The new systems are going to create more problems than they are going to solve," warned Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, fearing the $14 million in federal aid to Suffolk will not fully cover putting a new system in place. "The $14-million is the tip of the iceberg," Levy said.
Beyond hardware, local election officials also worry that the new machines will require extensive training of election workers and a large number of new hires to replace inspectors, who may not want to learn the new system.
Others say the new systems may not do much for the handicapped for whom the machines are being made more accessible. William Biamonte, Nassau's Democratic elections commissioner, said a survey of 6,000 voters who use absentee ballots because of age or infirmity, showed little interest in new voting machines. "Their biggest response was lower my taxes," he said.
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