VOTING WITH PAPER BALLOTS AND OPTICAL SCANNERS
In 2010 New York City voters were presented with a whole new way of voting. No longer were they able to use the clunky but comfortable lever machines. In order to comply with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and the state's Election Reform and Modernization Act (ERMA), voters throughout the state used paper ballots and optical scanners to cast their votes in the September Primaries and November General Election.
While this is a new method of voting in New York City, paper ballot optical scan elections have been taking place for many years all over the country. In the 2009 elections voters in all or part of 42 upstate counties used optical scanning systems in a highly successful pilot project. Many New York City residents have had experience filling out paper forms which are then optically scanned, such as standardized tests like SATS, and lottery tickets. With lottery tickets the purchaser gets a paper receipt from the scanner. With optically scanned paper ballots, the paper ballot drops into a locked storage container beneath the scanner. A percentage of the paper ballots are audited to assure that the scanners correctly tabulate the votes. In addition to the paper ballot record, the scanner memory retains an image of each scanned ballot.
Other new features of the system include the placement of privacy booths in each poll site where voters can mark their ballots, and folders, which are dubbed privacy sleeves, are used to cover voters' ballots until they are inserted in the scanners.
For voters with vision problems, or for those who cannot fill out the ballot by hand, AutoMARK ballot marking devices (BMDs) are available in each poll site. They enable voters to view or listen to the ballot in any of the required languages and are equipped with a Braille-enhanced keypad, a sip and puff device and a rocker paddle. Ballots marked on BMDs are counted in the scanners with the same anonymity as ballots marked by hand. While ballot markers are designed specifically for people with disabilities any voter may use the BMD.
New York is one of the last states to select a new voting system and implement this aspect of the Help America Vote Act, passed in 2002. The act required voting systems to be accessible to the disabled and provide the ability to recount votes-- features not compatible with the lever machines. They also must give voters an opportunity to change their votes. In selecting a new voting system, the New York State Board of Elections subjected all of the voting systems to the most strenuous and comprehensive tests carried out anywhere in the country.
A Voter Survey conducted by the League of Women Voters found that New York voters had little or no difficulty in using the scanners. However, as is often the case with new systems, survey respondents identified significant concerns about a lack of voter privacy, confusing ballot design, small type size and some poll-site personnel unable to provide assistance or accurate information. The League and other good government organizations will continue to make recommendations to the Board of Elections to improve election administration and assure that every voter has an opportunity to fully participate in the electoral process.
This election, Ballot Marking Devices (BMDs) are also available at polling sites to assist voters, especially those with disabilities, to vote. BMD ballots will be counted with paper ballots. For more information about BMDs, call 866-VOTE-NYC (212-487-5496 for the hearing impaired) or visit www.vote.nyc.ny.us/bmdenglishfaqtxt.html.
