Good Government, Voting Machines, and Other Stuff (Pic Heavy)

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I thought about writing part of this a couple weeks ago after our Primary elections ended and hesitated. Today I experienced something and I want to share my feelings. As many of you know, I am lucky enough to live in Nassau County, NY. We are fortunate to have a good Democratic government. Our County Executive is Tom Suozzi who ran against Eliot Spitzer for Governor. Tom ran a tough campaign and was undeserving of the result he got, but he ran against one of the biggest Democratic power houses in the country. Tom ran on a record of leadership and results. My experience today was just another example of this.

Last week I was notified by several people and the county that the voting machines that the county is considering for our future voting machines would be on display for public testing and comment. I felt that this was a great opportunity to participate in something crucial to the survival of our republic. I couldn’t live with myself if an election in Nassau County was botched or stolen. So I went out to the Cradle of Aviation and kicked the tires on a few of the machines. I mentioned this opportunity to other Democratic friends from around the country. They felt that it was an “incredible public service” and truly something special. They didn’t get the same opportunity. So my point is that yes, it was depressing for many people that Suozzi lost, but you know what? We are blessed to have Tom Suozzi to ourselves for the next 3 years and that’s a great thing!

Voting Machines

So I checked out the voting machines that were on display and learned a lot in the process. There were two types of voting systems on display called Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) and Optical Scan. The machines were made by Diebold, Populex, Sequoia, Avante, and Precise Voting.

The selection process is being driven entirely by state law based on the HAVA law. Two of the requirements of NY State are that the entire ballot must be visible on the screen and there must be a paper trail. This immediately eliminated some of the machines on display.

There is a significant difference between DRE and Optical Scan. DRE technology is basically a touch screen. A voter would have to make their selections on the screen and then accept their selections. Once their selections are accepted, a paper ballot is created. The handling of the paper ballot varies by machine. Optical Scan is a more traditional method. Voters must fill the circles on a piece of paper that is later scanned by a machine. It’s similar to the way schools do standardized testing.

The first machine that I checked out was the Diebold DRE. The Diebold DRE cannot display the entire ballot on the screen, so it does not qualify for NYS. It can be used for handicapped voters. The Diebold DRE is the machine that was recently cracked by Princeton University.

Diebold Accuvote TSX




I asked the Diebold guy if his company has been having a hard time since Princeton cracked the machine. He said no, they’re the largest machine manufacturer in the country. I said that’s because their CEO said he’d deliver the election for Bush. He said “that’s bullshit” in a real evil republican tone.

Next was the Populex Digital Paper Ballot System. The populex machine was also not capable of displaying the entire ballot on the screen. Nevertheless, they were there and happy to participate.



The first machine that I saw that has a chance is the Sequia Voting Systems DRE Advantage Plus Touch. This machine was HUGE. It had 4 screens combined to make one large display. It looked like the NY ballot we all know on a digital screen. This machine was getting a lot of attention because it looked good.



Sequoia also had an optical scan machine called Optical Insight. On this machine a voter must complete the arrows pointing to each candidate’s name. The ballot is then scanned into what looks like a giant shredder. The ballot is then ejected and filed by election workers. The machine notifies the voter if there is an over-vote or under-vote.





The next machine that I felt was intriguing was the Avante Vote Tracker DRE. It is a more complete looking version of the Sequoia DRE. There is a single large screen. The font sizes varied depending on how many candidates are on the ballot. This makes this screen extremely easy to read.



The final machine on display was from a Long Island company called Precise Voting. They displayed a DRE that looked interesting, but I felt like the screens were too small and the machine looked complicated.



I went into this with an open mind and I have come out with an opinion. The highest priority in this process should be ensuring the election is secure. The most secure method is the Optical Scan. The optical scan has no barrier between the voter and the ballot. The optical scan also doesn’t limit the number of people that can vote. Several people can vote at once compared to a machine based method that only allows one voter at a time. I would recommend the Optical Scan from anyone but Diebold.

Nassau County handled this event perfectly. They put the machines on display, educated us about the technology, and let us give them feedback. One of the workers said that they might do this again depending on the response. I hope so and I must say others are jealous already and that’s a great thing.

[Renew Deal]

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