Board Of Elections Tests Next Generation Voting Machines

[brooklynite]

The State Board of Elections began testing the next generation of voting machines Thursday.

Six machines from different companies are set to be tested over the next few days. State officials will be looking for efficiency and ease of use, particularly for those with disabilities. All of the machines being tested were designed to retain something of the look and feel of the paper ballots voters are used to using.

Testers used six different voting systems, including some with big touch screens, such as one designed by Avante International.

...snip...

"We can't deploy voting systems that haven't been fully tested," said Robert Brehm of the state Board of Elections. "We have standards, we are going to test to those standards, and the machines that meet those standards will be eligible to be certified."

Those standards include language options, a backup system to verify votes and access for those with disabilities.

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=63802

video: http://real.ny1.com:8080/ramgen/real4/0019DB2B_061026_130934hi.rm

[Eric J in MN]

1. In Minnesota, we use optical-scan paper ballots statewide.

NY state should follow that example instead of buying touchscreens, where people touch one candidate's name and get another candidate on the confirmation screen.

Better yet, we should all vote on paper ballots, publicly hand-counted.