New voting machines on the way for fall 2010

Similar machines have been unreliable locally

By Nathan Mayberg

During the November elections, many poll workers were sitting around with little to do. And it wasn’t just because of the off-year nature of the election cycle. New computerized voting machines designed for the disabled require two workers at each polling place. With only 180 voters turning out to use them throughout the county’s more than 800 polling stations, most stations didn’t see a single handicapped voter come through.

And when they did, the machines weren’t always reliable. There were several reports in Port Chester and Rye Brook during the last two November elections of machines breaking down. Now, at least one of the companies that built those computers has been chosen by the New York State Board of Elections as one of two vendors to install electronic voting machines for all voters this fall. Dominion Voting Systems of Toronto, which currently operates one version of the handicapped computers, will also be one of the companies to introduce the new optical scanners. Election Systems and Software (ES & S) of Nebraska was the second company chosen on Dec. 15.

Westchester County will receive approximately $10 million from the federal government for the new scanners, but that will not be enough. Westchester County Board of Elections Commissioner Reginald LaFayette estimated that the county will have to purchase about 1,100 scanners in order to comply with the Help America Vote Act of 2002, a federal law which mandated new electronic voting systems in order to prevent the catastrophe of the 2000 presidential election.

According to John Conklin, Director of Public Information for the New York State Board of Elections, the scanners will cost between $7,744 and $13,699 depending on the type.

The county already purchased 400 handicapped accessible machines at a cost of approximately $7,000 apiece (or about $3 million), according to LaFayette. LaFayette didn’t have precise data on the cost. It is unclear to LaFayette whether the county will have to purchase new machines built by ES&S at a cost of $7,744, plus an additional machine for special needs voters at a cost of nearly $6,000, or whether the $7,744 machine will be sufficient. The Old Dominion machines cost $11,500 apiece. At a minimum, 1,100 machines at a cost of $7,744 would run Westchester $8.5 million. That would leave a hole of at least $1.5 million the county would have to make up.

Westchester County Legislator Martin Rogowsky (D-Harrison), who represents Port Chester, Rye Brook and Harrison, said he is still angry with the $14 million the county spent to purchase and develop an 80,000-square-foot building in Ardsley two years ago to house the new machines. The federal government did not pick up any of the cost for that purchase. He said the federal legislation to mandate the new machines was a “mistake.”

Matthew Friefeld of Port Chester, an election inspector for the county who oversaw the handicapped machine at the King Street School polling station, said the handicapped machines “don’t seem to work well. They have a lot of failures.” A computer consultant, he said the problems with the handicapped machines were “an indicator of the weakness of (the computer company’s) software.”

When asked about the reported failures, LaFayette said “perhaps they could have been inspector errors.”

“I don’t buy that because the machine that we had (in November), we had to turn it on and off multiple times,” responded Friefeld. He said the machine failed on its own and a similar machine broke down during the 2008 presidential election. Friefeld said he is “skeptical” that the new electronic machines will work. “It will take a long time to vote. There will be a lot of failures.”

The handicapped machines were installed so disabled voters could choose their candidates without any assistance. While seemingly a worthy goal, Friefeld said the new process takes about 20 minutes for experienced handicapped voters and even longer for new voters. “It is a very long, involved process,” he said. Depending on the voter’s disability, the machines can involve brail and verbal instructions through a headset for the blind or pedals for the quadriplegic. The results then need to be printed out and scanned by the inspectors.

LaFayette said federal election law mandates the county to employ two election inspectors for each handicapped machine in every polling place. Friefeld said the county should employ the handicapped machines in central locations for each township rather than at each polling station. “It would make more sense economically,” especially “in this time of tight budgets,” he said. “We’re pissing away millions on these machines.” He suggested the county provide public transportation to those who need to travel farther to the polling stations.

Rogowsky said many handicapped voters use absentee ballots.

Friefeld, 48, said he preferred the current lever ballots. “I’ve been voting since I was 18…I’ve never had a problem.” Though he acknowledges there are machines that break down, he said they are “tried and true.” They are also more efficient and less costly, he added. “They don’t require electricity.” Friefeld is concerned that the software for the voting machines could be vulnerable to attack by hackers.

Rogowsky said he also was “happy with the lever machines.” However, he said the county did not have a choice and every other state has employed similar machines.

“We have no choice but to comply,” added LaFayette.

Friefeld said New York State should sue the federal government if it doesn’t think the machines will work. Furthermore, he doesn’t think the state is required under the U.S. Constitution to install the machines.

New York was the last state to certify machines for the 2010 November election. Most counties in the state have already purchased the machines, while others such as New York, Rockland and Westchester have held out.

Conklin said the state “had a more extensive testing process” than other states and waited for the best possible product. He said 4,000 electronic machines were used this past November. There were 29 reports of “issues” ranging from computers freezing or otherwise not working properly. The State Board of Elections has given the companies a list of problems they still must correct for the upcoming elections.

The new machines are supposed to be ready for the fall 2010 election, said LaFayette. He said they would require extensive training of poll workers. “It looks like we are on schedule,” he said, adding that “anything could happen.”

This is part of the January 1, 2010 online edition of Port Chester Westmore News.

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