A bill passed by the Senate and Assembly this week would allow Port Chester to continue to use lever voting machines until the end of 2012State lawmakers sent a Valentine of sorts to Port Chester with the Feb. 14 passage of a bill that would allow the village of 30,000 to continue to use lever voting machines.
Specifically, the measure would Port Chester, which administers it's own elections to use the old-fashioned machines instead of federally mandated electronic machines until Dec. 31, 2012.
A 2002 federal law mandated that all states switch over to electronic voting systems by 2007, both to accommodate disabled voters and, ostensibly, avoid the problems that surfaced in Florida and Ohio during the 2000 presidential election. New York was the last state to come into compliance with the law, as it certified optical scan machines last year.
Assemblyman George Latimer (D-Port Chester - Rye), who co-sponsored the bill in his chamber, said it would save villages money by ensuring that they don't have to lease new equipment from the county or provide training to local election inspectors.
The bill passed both the Assembly and Senate, and is now sitting on the desk of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. His office did not immediately return requests for comment.
If signed by the governor, the new law would clear up current confusion over how Port Chester is to administer their upcoming March elections.
Currently, lever machines and paper ballots are outlawed in the state; at the same time, the county only recently gained permission from the state to lease the machines to Port Cheste
Election Officials have said that optical scan is perfect for elections with a large turnout, but lever machines are easier for the village to run and count in elections with lower turnout.
Port Chester Roundup supports the bill and urges the governor to sign it.
More Information:
Voting machine debate deja vu all over again - http://www.examiner.com/election-reform-in-denver/voting-machine-debate-deja-vu-all-over-again#ixzz1EdjTzjXe
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