State: Many election boards not ready for vote Cara Matthews Albany Bureau
October 18, 2008 <http://www.lohud.com:80/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081018/NEWS05/810180367&template=printart>http://www.lohud.com:80/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081018/NEWS05/810180367&template=printart More than half of 18 county election boards recently evaluated on their preparation for Election Day had yet to hire all the staff needed to work the polls, according to a report released yesterday by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The state Board of Elections oversees 57 county election boards and the five counties that are part of the New York City Board of Elections. Eight boards had not completed training for workers, the Comptroller's Office found. They were Putnam, Westchester, Monroe, Albany, Fulton, Greene and those for Brooklyn and Manhattan. Those counties had training scheduled for October. But all county election officials interviewed during the evaluation said they were confident they would be prepared for Election Day and heavy voting, DiNapoli's report said. The review sought to get a snapshot of how county boards are planning for the election and point out potential problems in advance, DiNapoli spokesman Dennis Tompkins said. The issue is even more critical this year because of the presidential election, as more people vote than in other years. There were 11.9 million registered voters as of Thursday, up from 11.4 million in March, new state statistics show. "The target wasn't to pick on 18 counties. The target was to help every board in the state get ready for this election," Tompkins said, noting that a review is less extensive and formal than an audit. State law requires that all election workers be appointed by July 15. But just two counties - Putnam and Broome - did so by that date, the evaluation said. Nine of the 16 other counties had not appointed all their Election Day staff at the time of the review, which was done between Sept. 22 and Oct. 6. The Westchester County board held several training sessions yesterday, said Reginald LaFayette, Democratic commissioner. About 7,500 of 10,000 people who attend a class will end up working Election Day, he said. "We'll be training right up to the end of October" and, if necessary, early November, he said. There is more to learn this year because of a requirement that each polling place have at least one ballot-marking device for voters with disabilities. The touch-screen machines have special features, such as screen magnification and audio. Before this year, just one such device per county was required. This is supposed to be the last year the state uses mechanical-lever voting machines. The success of an election is based strongly on the expertise and know-how of election workers, said Robert Bennett, Democratic commissioner in Putnam. "They can make an election a winner or a disaster," he said. Other findings in the review: - All the counties have contingency plans in case voting machines don't work on Election Day. - Of the approximately 3,340 polling places examined, only four are not disability-accessible, which is required by law. Counties have waivers for those four sites. - Two of the 16 counties outside New York City - Albany and Suffolk - did not perform regular testing of voting machines. Four of the 14 counties that did regular testing had documentation to prove it. They were Westchester, Monroe, Wyoming and Onondaga. - Ten counties did not maintain repair records on voting machines. They were Erie, Schuyler, Albany, Fulton, Greene, Lewis, Nassau, Rensselaer, Schoharie and Wyoming. - Eleven counties had no written proof that their voting-machine technicians had received training. They were Putnam, Westchester, Erie, Schuyler, Albany, Fulton, Lewis, Onondaga and Wyoming as well as those for Brooklyn and Manhattan. The Comptroller's Office did not look at how well boards are processing registration of new voters and ensuring their voter books are up to date, the report said. ----- Original Message ----- From: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>Mark Crispin Miller To: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>Thomas Staudter Sent: Monday, October 20, 2008 12:41 PM Subject: Re: NY State ready for voting? Doesn't work... ><http://www.lohud.com:80/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081018/NEWS05/810180367&template=printart>http://www.lohud.com:80/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081018/NEWS05/810180367&template=printart > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
