New York Is Sued by U.S. on Delay of Vote System

[quiet.american]

New York Is Sued by U.S. on Delay of Vote System
By MICHAEL COOPER

ALBANY, March 1 — The Justice Department sued New York State on Wednesday for failing to overhaul its election system and replace its aging voting machines. It is the first lawsuit the federal government has filed to force a state to comply with the voting guidelines enacted by Congress after the 2000 election debacle.

The new federal guidelines were designed to prevent the kind of electoral chaos that marred the 2000 presidential election in Florida, and to make casting ballots easier for disabled voters. But New York State's efforts to modernize its election system have fallen far behind the rest of the nation, delayed by Albany's chronic gridlock and partisan bickering.

New York was supposed to create a statewide database of registered voters by Jan. 1 to make it easier to register and to detect fraud. It has not even come close to doing so, the lawsuit contends.

And while New York has accepted more than $49 million in federal aid to replace its creaky mechanical voting machines by this fall's elections, it has yet to tell localities what kinds of new voting machines will be acceptable. So most counties say it will be impossible to buy new machines and train poll workers in time.

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/02/nyregion/02vote.html

[Warpy]

1. And if those crooked machines aren't in place?

Will New York be disqualified in 2006?

Somehow, I don't think that will happen. After all, the states still hold the power to conduct elections, no matter how much puffing and blowing the Feds are doing, although the GOP would love to eliminate their Senators and Reps for just that very reason. The constitutional crisis that would provoke would end up costing the pubbies too much.

[Benhurst]

2. The only votes which count will be those made on

crooked Repub machines.

BushAmerica: the new face of fascism

[quiet.american]

3. I like what New Mexico's doing about this, but doubt Pataki will duplicate

It's just too common sense and populist.

[BlueEyedSon]

4. more info, pls!!!

[quiet.american]

5. :) Check out this thread --

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x553385

[BlueEyedSon]

6. thx!!!