The state Board of Elections had its annual meeting in Syracuse, and the boys from all the electronics companies were there peddling their wares, and the wares were something to see — great monsters with all the whistles and bells that would get any high school boy excited. But, unless you have computer smarts, you’ll need a long explanation before you vote. I run a computer, but I made five errors before I got it right. I checked the prices after I kicked a few tires, (yes, they have those because they weigh more than your riding mower) and I see why the New York Voters for Verified Voting say the fancy electronics could cost New York state $230,473,000.
It is a federal mandate that we have to dispose of the old lever voting machines. Gone are the days of closing the curtain and, in privacy, pulling down a lever to get the vote you want. In our system, where both parties have their political representatives present, there hasn’t been many questions of fraud in all the time we’ve been using printomatic lever machines.
The good news is paper ballots are back. They were there with an electronic back-up. Fill it in and stick it in a scanner/counter, which locks up the good ones (if needed for a recount) and rejects it if there are errors, in which case you turn it in for another ballot from the election official. For the handicapped, there is a computer to assist in voting privately. The cost of both of these units would be $114,423,640, a saving of $116,049,360 over the electronic beasts.
The state has left the decision on the machines up to the counties. Call your county representative and tell him or her you want a Paper Ballot/Optical Scanning voting system.
Casper Roos , Gilbertsville