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Bronx: Re your
Jan. 31 article
"Voting machine mess
still far
from resolved": New York State
should retain the current
lever machines. Your descrip-
tion of them as "antiquated" is
a misconception. These ma-
chines were built to last for at
least another 100 years. The
manufacturer is alive and well
and located in NJ, and
replacement parts are avail-
able. The rush to implement
new systems before they're
thoroughly understood and
tested will only lead to more
cynicism about the integrity of
our elections
Carl Lundgren
Chair, Bronx Greens
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Dear
Editor,
Re
"Voting machine mess still far from resolved", Jan. 31,2007: The best thing that
could happen in New York State would be to retain our current lever
machines.
The description of them as "antiquated", as the article states, is a
misconception.
These machines were built to last for at least another hundred
years. The manufacturer
is alive and well and located in NJ, and replacement parts are still
available. The more
pertinent misconception is that the Help America Vote Act (HAVA)
mandates upgrading
to new voting systems, generally misconstrued as meaning electronic
voting machines
This is not accurate at all. HAVA requires that provisions be made for
the disabled and
foreign language voters but this can be done by having a ballot
marking device available
at polling sites in addition to lever machines, or, for that matter,
punch cards or paper ballots.
New systems are only required if states accepted funding under Title I
of HAVA. Those states
that didn't comply by the required deadlines could have returned the
funds. By accepting
Federal money and not coming into compliance, our elected officials
have forced us into
the present situation.
Our
right to vote is one of the basic freedoms that defines us as a nation.
The rush to
implement new systems before they're thoroughly understood and tested
will only lead
to more cynicism about the integrity of our elections and how serious
we are in
protecting and cherishing those rights.
Carl
Lundgren
Chair, Bronx Greens |
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