New York

In 2006, Voter Action joined efforts with local organizations and individuals to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice against the state. New York was under pressure from the Department of Justice to implement a statewide conversion from lever voting machines to computerized voting. State and county election officials also appeared to favor new, untested touchscreen DRE machines. Forceful arguments against DRE voting systems were essential in preventing New York from committing to unreliable and untrustworthy voting technology. These efforts contributed to the development of a settlement that kept DREs out of New York in 2006 and that also led to the adoption of stronger state voting system regulations. The US Department of Justice is now pressing, via a new motion in federal court in New York, for an overhaul of New York's lever machines by the 2008 elections. Voter Action recently assisted in the filing of an amici brief by New Yorkers for Verified Voting, League of Women Voters of New York State, New York Public Interest Research Group, and Citizen Action of New York. The brief argues that an overhaul of New York's lever machines should not be required by November 2008 but rather by November 2009, so as to avoid chaos at the polls in the state in the upcoming presidential election. The brief further argues that compliance with the Help America Vote Act should involve precinct-based optical scanners and non-tabulating ballot marking devices to meet accessibility requirements.

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