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HAVA conference committee
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As of today, 4/18/05, there is no scheduled conference committee meeting.
The last meeting was on March 23, almost a month ago. The Senate has refused
to sign the assembly's certificate authorizing the continuation of the
committee. There has been a back and forth between the two houses over when
and how the certificate should be extended with the senate making a series
of demands, the most recent of which was that the assembly pass the database
and complaint procedure bills that have been agreed upon. The Assembly has
promised to move the bills through the Ways and Means Committee next week
and to the floor for a vote after that. However, the senate still refuses
to come to the table.
Assemblyman Keith Wright issued a press release calling on the senate to
reconvene the conference committee, and to "stop dragging their feet."
Included in the release was a letter from Wright to Flanagan dated April 4th
asking him to reactivate the committee and work toward a final package.
The outstanding issues that the conference committee has to deal with are
voting machines, and voter verification. We seem to have won solid support
for precinct based optical scan systems in the Assembly, but the Senate
support does not yet seem to be there (although individual Senators often
tell us they like the optical scan alternative).
Whether the HAVA conference committee will pass legislation requiring paper
ballots and optical scan is still an open question. We hope that the Senate
committee members will get behind optical scan.
This week, give the HAVA conference committee members (especially the
Senators) a call and remind them that New Yorkers want paper ballots!
http://www.nyvv.org/actionConferenceCommitteeMembers.htm--------------------------------------
NYVV releases acquisition cost comparison
--------------------------------------
On April 13, 2005, New Yorkers for Verified Voting released an
Acquisition Cost Analysis comparing the purchase costs of DREs vs. Optical
Scan systems for all counties in New York State.
The analysis shows the following Acquisition costs:
Electronic voting machines (DREs):
$230,473,000
Paper Ballots & Precinct based Optical Scan:
$114,423,640
Cost SAVINGS from Optical Scan: $116,049,360
You can download a copy here:
http://nyvv.org/doc/AcquisitionCostDREvOptScanNYS.pdfLet's get this circulating among all the local and state legislators and
election commissioners.
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Support Bill A6503, Urge Senate companion bill
--------------------------------------
The new "Scan and Be Sure" bill introduced by Assemblywomen Sandy Galef and
Barbara Lifton, A6503, would mandate the use of paper ballots and
precinct-count optical scanners. We need the NY State Senate to introduce
and pass a companion Scan and Be Sure bill.
Call your state senator and tell them about the advantages of optical scan -
the reliability, the paper ballots, the cost savings! Send them the link to
New Yorkers for Verified Voting's acquisition cost analysis. We don't want
electronic voting, and we can't afford it!
Then call your state assembly member. Tell them the same thing, and send the
link. Tell them to cosponsor and support the Scan and Be Sure bill, A6503.
To look up your state legislators, go to:
http://www.nyvv.org/actionStateOfficial.htm#statelegislator--------------------------------------
Newspapers continue to endorse PBOS!
--------------------------------------
More and more newspapers are coming out with endorsements for paper ballots
and optical scan. This Sunday, the Syracuse Post Standard became the latest
major New York State newspaper to endorse PBOS.
Please contact the editorial boards of your local paper to arrange a meeting
to discuss paper ballots and optical scan. Contact me if you'd like help
with the presentation.
Here's a list of recent endorsements:
Syracuse Post-Standard - 4/17/05
http://www.syracuse.com/news/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/opinion-4/1113640588152910.xml&coll=1
Elmira Star Gazette - 3/29/05
http://www.stargazettenews.com/opinion/Tuopin1.htmlTroy Record - - 3/20/05
http://www.troyrecord.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1170&dept_id=7018&newsid=14184126&PAG=461&rfi=9
Eagle Regional Newspapers - 3/20/05
An editorial endorsing paper ballots and optical scan appeared in the Eagle
regional papers in Chittenango, Canastota, and in the Oneida Press on March
30, 2005. We currently do not have an online link to the endorsement.
New York Times - 3/9/05
http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=5638New York Daily News - 3/9/05
http://www.nydailynews.com/03-09-2005/news/ideas_opinions/story/288160p-246677c.html
--------------------------------------
Town And County Resolutions
--------------------------------------
There are now several towns and counties that have passed resolutions
calling for paper ballot and optical scan. Getting towns and counties to
call for optical scan is an important part of our strategy. I've been making
presentations with local citizens to counties around the state as part of
this effort. Please contact me (bolipari@nyvv.org) and let's get working on
one in your county or town!
Meetings with county officials can get important media coverage. Here's an
article from Otsego County where we presented to the IGA committee:
http://www.thedailystar.com/news/stories/2005/04/13/vot6.htmlWe have several counties now working on passing resolutions. Here is the
current list of optical scan resolutions which have passed:
Tompkins County
http://nyvv.org/doc/TompkinsResolution.pdfSchuyler County
(No link yet)
Putnam County
http://nyvv.org/doc/PutnamResolution.pdfGreenburgh Town Board
http://nyvv.org/doc/GreenburghResolution.pdfPhilipstown Town Board
(No link yet)
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Help Wanted
--------------------------------------
The more successful we've been, the more work we have to do. We need to
enlist some people who are willing to commit several hours a week to helping
us with the many different tasks we need to get done. Let me know if you can
help out with any of the following:
1) Web master - Keeping our NYVV website up to date is very important, but
hard to do with so much going on. We need an experienced web master who can
help us post information in a timely fashion, and to rework our site to add
some planned improvements.
2) Researchers - We are gathering data from counties around the US using
optical scan systems. We need individuals willing to make long distance
calls and interview election officials about their experiences with optical
scan.
3) Voting Equipment specialists - We want to develop a core of specialists
who know everything there is to know about the different voting machines
being offered to New York. You'll need a technical background, the ability
to analyze technical specifications, and a modest writing ability to compile
reports on the machines.
If you can volunteer for any of the work above, please let me know at
bolipari@nyvv.org.
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