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Public Forum on NYS Voting Systems is Essential
To the Editor:
I was so pleased to see the report in last week's PCNR that the Rules Committee of the Putnam County Legislature is planning an April public forum on the selection of our County's new voting system. The voters of Putnam County who have spent time on this issue have been calling for such a forum for over a year.
A decision so essential and basic to our rights as citizens, which must assure an accurately recorded and counted vote, is one that must be made in the light of day and based on the best available information. Experience in the rest of the United States has unequivocally shown that paper ballot/optical scan is without doubt the best choice. Of the choices available under New York law, it is the more secure, more accurate, more transparent and more cost efficient system.
I strongly urge that all citizens who care about their vote come to this forum, when it is scheduled, listen to others and express your opinion. You have a right to be heard - you are the boss, because you are the voter.
As background, New York State law requires that we discontinue use of the existing lever machines and replace them with either touch screen voting machines or paper ballots counted on precinct based optical scanners. The law further provides that the County's choice of voting system is to be made on a county-by-county basis by each county's two Election Commissioners.
It is unclear when this will happen because the State Board of Elections will not be certifying the specific voting systems from which the Commissioners can pick until May 2007. This late date will make implementation for the 2007 elections, as a practical matter, impossible. But right now the exact timing depends on the outcome of negotiations by New York State with the Federal Department of Justice.
But regardless of when we will have to give up our beloved lever machines for a new system, there are two reasons that Putnam County voters should take a clear stand for paper ballot/optical scan now. First, although under the law the Commissioners make the choice, we need to remember that they are public servants whose responsibility is to act in the public interest.
Second, the State legislature will be considering legislation authored by our State Assemblywoman, Sandy Galef, that would replace current law with a mandate for paper ballot/optical scan for the entire state. A strong show of support for this system by Putnam County, along with other counties in the state, will do much to convince our state legislature to do the right thing and pass Assemblywoman Galef's bill.
Margaret Yonco-Haines
Garrison
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