Reply #25: $220M for voting machines seen as imperiled [View All]

[MelissaB]

$220M for voting machines seen as imperiled

Mayoral panel says state could lose funding for new devices because of dawdling in Albany
Friday, March 11, 2005
By MICHAEL SCHOLL

New York state could lose $220 million in federal funding for new voting machines because of dawdling in Albany, a special mayoral panel warned yesterday.

Richmond County Clerk Stephen Fiala and the other members of the Election Modernization Task Force, appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said the money could be lost unless lawmakers act quickly to approve new voting machine legislation.

New York state is eligible for nearly $220 million in federal aid under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which Congress approved in 2002 to help avoid election fiascos like those in Florida in 2000.

But to qualify, states must replace antiquated voting machines with new ones before September 2006. New York state lawmakers have failed to approve enabling legislation to allow purchase of new equipment because of partisan wrangling over the kinds of machines to be bought.

New York is the only state that has not passed the legislation.

More: http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1110551677151550.xml