BBV Snakes Into New York

Look what the email from the NYS Assembly sent me this morning:

<http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/comm/ELaw/20031010/>

"Help America
Vote Act

From the NYS Assembly • Sheldon Silver, Speaker
Keith Wright • Chair, Election Law Committee
RoAnn Destito • Chair, Government Operations Committee

New York’s antiquated voting system needs an overhaul

Florida’s dysfunctional voting system took center stage during the November 2000 presidential elections and ultimately led to a new federal law to overhaul the nation’s voting standards. Voting is the very essence of our democracy and like other states, New York is in the process of improving the way we perform this fundamental right.

Our democracy relies too heavily on antiquated procedures and equipment. In fact, the two companies that manufactured the polling machines that New York has used for the last 60 years have stopped making them and now even replacement parts are scarce.

Ongoing confusion at the polls has left voters disheartened and led to a steady decline in voter participation. Voters have shown frustration with how and where to register, what identification is needed, how to operate aging lever machines, and ultimately whether their vote will be recorded and counted correctly. We must streamline the voting process and restore voters’ confidence in the system.

The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) is a federal law that gives New York that opportunity by providing aid to modernize the election process. Congress gave each state the freedom to create a plan that will prepare them for the overhaul as long as certain guidelines were met. Unfortunately, the 19 member state Task Force created to guide this reform was virtually hand-picked by the governor’s administration. In fact, the head of the state Board of Elections was passed over as chairman in favor of the governor’s personal choice.

The governor’s appointed chairman promised a draft to Task Force members by May 1, 2003, but didn’t send it until a month later. After careful review, many members of the Task Force deemed the plan short-sighted, leaving our state unprepared for this important restructuring. Furthermore, some members believed that the plan inappropriately implied that all members materially participated in the preparation and content of the plan.

Task Force’s plan lacks specific detail on how to bring 21st century technology to voters

HAVA is supposed to help states create a uniform, computerized voter registration list and assist states with establishing standardized, electronic voting machines. In order to receive federal funds, each state must design a plan, pass enabling legislation, and appropriate state funds. The process must also include citizen participation and public review.

Unfortunately, the Task Force’s plan does not provide an adequate level of detail on several key issues. Those missing portions of the plan mean that no one even has the opportunity to make meaningful suggestions about how to strengthen this vital piece of our democracy.

Plan to modernize voting machines and provide poll training remains unclear

The Task Force’s plan vaguely states that New York will undertake a statewide effort to replace lever voting machines currently used in all counties. But the plan offers no further detail of the machine selection process, how they will be phased in by January 1, 2006, or whether the new machines will be uniform statewide. The plan alludes to accommodating the needs of the disabled community, but falls short of ensuring statewide compliance and accessibility.

The plan also needs to address how poll workers and voters will be educated on using the new machines. After all, the first time many voters will see them will be during the next presidential election and that could be disastrous if voters don’t know what to expect.

Once a machine is decided on, the Task Force’s plan also needs to provide further information about how the voter outreach and education campaign will be implemented. There is no detail on how it will be developed, what the costs will be, or how the information will be distributed to the public. This campaign should be developed with the help of community organizations, state associations, election officials and literacy experts.

Questions raised about implementing a statewide voter registration list

The plan fails to describe how the centralized registered voter list will become available to county election officials. Other than the Department of Motor Vehicles, the plan does not list any databases that will be used to lessen the need for voter identification at the polls. This plan misses the opportunity to include detail on how these databases will be selected and how agreements for access can be reached.

Assembly’s plan fills gaps in Task Force’s draft

The Assembly addressed some of these problems by approving a package of legislation that ensures New York’s compliance with the Help America Vote Act. The package would:


consolidate election operations at the county level ensuring elections are run consistently, and polling places are adequately staffed with well-trained workers (A.8833);


create a computerized, centralized, interactive statewide voter registration list with proper privacy protections easing confusion at the polls, ensuring that voters get in and out of the polls quickly, and helping crack down on voter fraud (A.8842);


ban punch ballots and require statewide use of a single type of electronic voting machine that will be accessible to all citizens – including persons with disabilities and voters with limited English proficiency – and easily audited in order to assure voter confidence (A.8847);


provide improved instructions for paper ballots to avoid over-votes and ensure voters are aware of their right to a replacement ballot (A.8831); and


require a posting at each poll site of information relating to voting, the ballot and voter rights (A.8840).

We want a system that works for the voters. It’s time we end the confusion at polling places, increase voter turnout and empower all New Yorkers to participate in the process.

Elections are the lifeblood of our democracy, but they are meaningless without public trust. HAVA offers New York state the opportunity to increase voter participation and modernize the voting process. It’s the Task Force’s responsibility to provide the specific detail needed to bring 21st century technology to the public and ensure the integrity of our elections. "

We should take this to the bank!


"Elections are the lifeblood of our democracy, but they are meaningless without public trust. HAVA offers New York state the opportunity to increase voter participation and modernize the voting process. It’s the Task Force’s responsibility to provide the specific detail needed to bring 21st century technology to the public and ensure the integrity of our elections. "

you actually trust this diebold system?You trust the GOP/facist/operatives to do the right thing and NOT tamper with results?Are you another one of the people that told me to "relax and take my medication" when I posted this?:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=110&topic_id=1635

It's a column in the WashingtonTimes, on a Monday before Arnold announced on Friday that he would be running in California:

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030811-123908-4908r.htm

Bush campaign sees California, New York as ripe for taking


By Joseph Curl
THE WASHINGTON TIMES



The Bush-Cheney campaign plans to make a strong play to take California and New York in 2004, despite the states' recent history of supporting Democratic presidential candidates.
Both states are ripe for the taking, according to election strategists, even though California has preferred Democrats since President Bush's father won there in 1988 and New York has leaned liberal since Ronald Reagan took the state in 1984.
And with a war chest expected to top $200 million, President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are expected to hammer the Democratic ticket on their home base, which could require Democrats to expend more time, effort and money just to hang on to states crucial to their effort to retake the White House.
"President Bush's compassionate agenda resonates with the people of both New York and California," said Tracey Schmitt, spokeswoman for the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign. "We expect to be competitive in both those states."
The two states are the top prizes in any national election. California holds 55 electoral votes, New York, 31. While the Republicans can hold on to the White House without winning either state — Mr. Bush captured neither when he won in 2000 — Democrats must take California and New York to remain competitive.
While the mission appears difficult at best, a few factors will aid Mr. Bush's re-election efforts. In California, he holds an approval rating hovering in the mid to high 60s, and Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, is facing a recall effort from voters incensed over a $38 billion budget shortfall.
New York has a Republican governor, a Republican mayor of New York City and a very popular former city mayor — Rudolph Giuliani — and will be the site of the Republican National Convention in late August and early September, just two months before the general election.

more


This is the backstory for stealing both states like they stole Florida (where up to 40% of the vote was counted on computerized machines using some of the same Diebold software).

Don't LET them get these damned machines.

Eloriel

Even though you won't listen to me your screams of fraud are only going to make it harder for people to be taken seriously when it actually occurs.

Conason, saying he has been getting constant audience queries about BBV wants to write on the subject. Silver is doing the typical behind the learning curve procedural battle with our "popular" guv.

Do these guys need help in their research? New York might succumb to the 2000 con game propaganda without the battles we see now in states already under the Diebold plague. Of course we might have better accounbtability procedures, but our party here is no better than California, and a foothold now will cause enough damage that soon we will all have "Georgia on our mind" and I don't mean Jimmy Carter.

And speaking of which, is Carter up to speed yet? Man, you can't even rouse these guys out of a burning building.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=453116

Next year's US presidential election may be compromised by newvoting machines that computer scientists believe are unreliable, poorly programmed and prone to tampering.

An investigation published in today's Independent reveals tens of thousands of touch screen voting machinesmay be less reliable than the old punchcards, which famously stalled the presidential election in Florida in 2000, leaving the whole election open to international ridicule.

The machines are said to offer no independent verification of individual voting choices, making recounts impossible, and the software is shielded from public scrutiny by trade secrecy agreements.

The shortcomings have appeared in two academic studies and have prompted calls for urgent oversight legislation. They have also cast doubt on the accuracy of last November's mid-term election results, especially in Georgia, the first state to switch to touch screen voting.

more...

You all are making sure that everyone in mainstream society dismisses you all as conspiracy nuts and whackoes.

I've told you that like six million times already. And only at DU would they be considered "whackoes" due to the unfortunate biases that exist against him here.