Common Cause/NY • New York Public Interest Research Group

News Release

For Release Thursday, November 12, 2006

GROUPS REACT TO THE U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT'S THREAT TO SUE NEW YORK FOR NON-COMPLIANCE WITH THE HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT (HAVA)

CALL ON STATE TO GET WAIVER FROM FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR HAVA

In response to the letter sent this week by the U.S. Department of Justice to New York State over its failure to comply with the Help America Vote Act in a timely manner, the New York Public Interest Research Group and Common Cause/New York today urged the state to ask the federal government for a waiver.

"The state has dragged its feet for too many months and, as a result, we are behind the eight ball," said Miriam Kramer, NYPIRG's government policy analyst. "Now is the time to urge the federal government for a waiver so that New York can right its wrongs and work to put a modernized database and new voting systems in place without sacrificing a deliberate and comprehensive process."

"We are not past the point of no return," added Kramer. "It is critical that we move quickly, but that we do so in a manner that is transparent, open, and that enfranchises as many New Yorkers as possible."

The secretary of the state of Connecticut announced last week that efforts to convert to new electronic voting machines by November 2006 had come up short and that voters would use the same metal lever machines next fall that have been used in Connecticut since the 1920s.

"We should look to our neighbors for inspiration," stated Rachel Leon, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY. "Connecticut has called their voting vendors on the reality that their technology is not yet ready to meet the needs of disabled and to provide security through a paper trail. New York State should follow suit and put voters first."

"The federal government should support this effort to accept the reality that we need more time to get it right. Two wrongs don't make a right; NYS has lagged behind, but so has the technology that voters are demanding," she added.

The Justice Department letter stated that New York had missed the deadline of January 1, 2006 for creating a statewide database of registered voters and for modernizing voting machines. The letter stated that the Justice Department has been authorized to sue New York state and the state Board of Elections for its failure to implement HAVA.

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