I am writing to ask if the ballot marking devices the Otsego County elections commissioners' plan to purchase under the state Board of Elections plan presented to District Court Judge Gary Sharpe will be compatible with a paper ballot/optical scan voting system, or if they intend to acquire ballot-marking devices compatible with a Direct Recording Electronic, or DRE, system, which uses an electronic ballot.
Concurrent with the decision to deploy ballot-marking devices statewide, the New York State Board of Elections has recently expanded the definition of ballot-marking devices to include DRE voting machines. Acquiring ballot-marking devices for all polling places will mean committing more than half the money allocated to New York under the federal law for the new voting systems. And it means choosing a ballot-marking device that is compatible with either a paper ballot scanner or a DRE voting system.
The New York State Board of Elections requires county election commissioners to select these ballot marking devices by Feb. 8. Like it or not, their choice in this matter will decide the long-term future for replacing New York state's lever voting machines.
As a resident of the county, I urge that our commissioners choose a ballot-marking device compatible with a paper ballot/ballot scanner voting system; and avoid DRE systems.
Gail Sondergaard
Worcester