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Newsday, SUFFOLK COUNTY

Levy fights on vs. new vote machines

BY RICK BRAND

Newsday Staff Writer

October 6, 2006

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy said yesterday he will launch a legal battle so the county can keep using lever voting machines instead of changing to costly high-tech systems, which he said are unneeded, susceptible to fraud, and just confuse older voters.

Levy, joined at the news conference by Nassau Legis. Lisanne Altmann (D-Great Neck) and Suffolk Legis. Jon Cooper (D-Lloyd Harbor), said county attorneys will file papers in State Supreme Court in Albany today against the state Board of Elections, maintaining lever machines have worked for decades without problems.

"The people don't want it," said Levy. "They don't want to spend millions of our precious tax dollars because counties in Florida have problems with their hanging chads," referring to the disputed 2000 presidential election.

Altmann said that she will ask the Nassau Legislature to join Suffolk's suit.

Levy's suit challenges the state law that was enacted to implement the federal Help America Vote Act, which provides funds to improve voting systems throughout the country, including about $14 million for Suffolk to replace its 1,500 lever machines.

Levy said that federal law does not bar lever machines and the state legislation includes language that permits local elections boards to opt to keep the current machines. State election officials declined to comment because they have not seen the legal papers, but in the past have said that permission to keep using the lever machines is temporary.

Levy also maintains that a ban on the lever machines unfairly discriminates against older voters who may be intimidated by the new computerized systems.

While the federal law does not ban lever machines outright, experts say the new machines have to have a verified paper trail and accessibility to disabled, which lever machines lack. Levy acknowledges the problems with accessibility and concedes new technology is needed for handicapped voters, but believes counties should be required to have only one per polling place.

Christine Lachmeyer, chair of the election reform committee of the New York Association of Independent Living, criticized the proposal, saying it sets up "separate but equal voting," segregating the disabled from others.