Shuffle Off to Buffalo This Summer By Laurence F. Adamczyk, Election Commissioners Association President

Published By: Phoenix Graphics, Inc.. Rochester, New York 14608 For The New York State Election Commissioners' Association Vol. Number 11 Issue Number 2 The NYS-ECA-Reporter Shuffle Off to Buffalo This Summer By Laurence F. Adamczyk, Election Commissioners Association President The Association s Summer Conference will bring many of you to the city I call home. And whereas Buffalo is better known for its winter weather and the Buffalo Bills four consecutive Super Bowl losses, the Buffalo I know and love is appropriately nicknamed the City of Good Neighbors. Moreover, upon naming Buffalo The City With Heart USA Today wrote, [Our] nationwide search for a City with Heart one with the energy, excitement and community fellowship that make a one-stoplight town or a swarming metropolis a treasured hometown...the people of Buffalo... managed to be simultaneously proud and humble about their world-class art, architecture and grand urban parks; a great history including two U.S. presidents; and generations of immigrants and their descendents who turn every weekend from May to October into a street festival. The Buffalo area has outstanding theater, a world-class symphony, extraordinary architecture, non-stop nightlife along the resurgent Chippewa Street, and great shopping at the area s many malls and along Elmwood Avenue in the city, on Main Street in suburban Williamsville and in the quaint village of East Aurora. For people with an appetite there are a wealth of cafes and restaurants serving local specialties such as chicken wings and beef-on-weck, ethnically diverse cuisines, as well as truly affordable fine cuisine. We ve planned a number of activities and tours for all tastes during the conference from a Welcome Reception and Casino Night at the new Seneca Niagara Casino, architectural and cultural visits to some of the city s best treasures the Albright- Knox Art Gallery housing one of the world s top collections of modern art, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Darwin Martin Complex, the Erie County Historical Society, the Buffalo and Erie County Gardens and Our Lady of Victory Basilica and National Shrine, among others. Sports lovers can enjoy Buffalo Bisons baseball daily during the conference in their home series against the Indianapolis Indians, and thoroughbred horse racing across the border at Fort Erie Race Track & Slots. We re also planning a golf outing. For the kids, we ve scheduled a trip to the Buffalo Museum of Science and the Buffalo Zoo, the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park where they can tour the decks and hulls of a guided missile cruiser, a destroyer and a submarine, as well as a trip to Martin s Fantasy Island Amusement and Water Park. Music lovers can see local, national and internationally known guitarists in the WNED Buffalo Niagara Guitar Festival and the fourth annual North American Rock Guitar Competition. And shopaholics will delight in visits to the Walden Galleria Mall and to the Prime Outlets Mall in Niagara Falls. This is just a sampling of what we ve got planned for you. For a complete overview of Buffalo attractions, please visit the Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau on the web at www.buffaloniagaracvb.org. We look forward to hosting you in Buffalo this June. Fascinating facts about the Buffalo Niagara region Frederick Law Olmsted, the world renowned landscape architect who designed Central Park in New York City, designed Buffalo s park system; Buffalo was the first city to have parks connected by parkcontinued on Page 2 CONFERENCE DATES ECA Summer Conference June 20-23, 2004 Buffalo, NY ECA Winter Conference January 18-20, 2005 Rye, NY

Page 2 Be Careful What You Wish For... By Mary Beth Casey, Warren County Be careful what you wish for you just may get it. I m talking about the paper trail that some think will be the be-all and end-all of elections. The public is looking to the election community to show them the way, and I personally feel the way is paperless, except for the proof sheets for opening and closing the polls, as we have now. The paper trail requirement increases the potential for machine breakdown, and the recanvass requirement will create greater potential for human error in the machine voting process. As of now, Shuffle Off to Buffalo, continued from Page 1 ways and is one of a few cities with viable parkways. All Cheerios are made here. Originally formed 12,000 years ago, the Falls at Niagara have moved more than 7 miles upstream, thus carving out the Niagara Gorge a sevenmile canyon. The American Falls are 190 feet high and 1,060 feet wide while the Horseshoe Falls stand 185 feet high and 2,200 feet wide. The Niagara Region played a significant role in the Underground Railroad. Many former slaves escaped to freedom in Canada via the Niagara River at both Buffalo and Niagara Falls. There are homes in the region that have been identified as stations on the railroad. The Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, formerly the Wilcox residence, was the scene of the inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt as President of the United States on September 14, 1901, following the assassination of William McKinley. 200 miles of freshwater shore border the area. the machine vote once cast is exempt from challenge, which is why voters prefer voting on a machine rather than absentee and will go to great lengths to vote at their local polling locations even if it interferes with work or vacation plans. The more human contact required within the process, the more potential for human error or abuse and voter distrust. This does not have a system to allow visually impaired to verify their choices so they are being treated differently from sighted people, which is in violation of the ADA and opens the In 1905, the NAACP was founded in the region, with its first national conference in Buffalo. The Erie Canal opened in 1825, running 363 miles from Buffalo to New York City. Experts estimate that there are 1,200 to 2,000 angel faces in Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica. President Millard Fillmore is buried in Forest Lawn cemetery. Buffalo has the largest concentration of theaters in New York State outside of New York City. The Pedaling History Bicycle Museum is America s bicycle history center and the world s largest bicycle museum. Buffalo s Erie Basin Marina was constructed in the shape of a bison, visible from the marina s observation tower. Kleinhans Music Hall is one of the only acoustically perfect buildings in the world. More bagels are made here than in any other US city. Buffalo was the first city in the US to light its streets with electricity. door to federal lawsuits and revocation of HAVA money. If the legislators feel that there must be a paper trail, we should consider some type of criteria: a. Recount only under court order. b. Recount only the office being challenged by the court order. c. Recount problems will happen how many times do we recount to decide correct number of votes cast if machine number differs from recanvass by staff? The error rate for manual recounts must be considered. Should two human (manual) teams recanvass the same machine until they come up with a set of numbers that match to be sure machine is incorrect? d. No challenge of the individual paper slips from within the machine a team of lawyers would have a field day if they had access to thousands of machine paper ballots. Only allow challenge to the total number of votes cast from a machine or total number of votes cast from the human (manual) recount. e. If machine total is different from paper recanvass, does that require all machines be recanvassed by recanvass teams for all offices and propositions on the ballot? f. Will the county be granted an extension from the state for certification of required state offices and propositions until all recanvassing can be done? I remember the amount of time it took to recanvass only absentee, affidavit, and emergency ballots for Spitzer/Vacco in 1998. The results for an election could be delayed for weeks if not months. The public deserves better and it s our job to give it to them. I truly continued on Page 4

Sharing Resources By Elizabeth W. Cree, First Vice-President I have worked at the Tompkins County Board of Elections for seventeen years, and have been a Commissioner for the last seven. During that time I have found two things to be true. One, there is always a board or a Commissioner that is willing to assist others with their election questions. And two, the Election Association is a very dedicated group that never tires of discussing election business. Any time I have ever needed any information on petitions, laws, or procedures, my answers were just a phone call away. The friendships we make through our association are priceless in both our personal and work lives. It also provides us with a huge source of information right at our fingertips. I have called associates on a Sunday night, and always found a friendly voice at the other end. Contrary to belief, our jobs can be 24/7, especially during petitions or close elections. Remember, you don t always have to reinvent the wheel. Another board may have the solution you seek. For example, a couple of years ago we had a problem with our printer packs sticking in voting machines. I emailed the executive committee and received several replies immediately. Other boards have provided our office with grant information, proposals, and many other useful tools. Especially in tight budget years with limited staff, we should utilize all available resources. Since we have several new Commissioners, I wanted to take this time to say I am available to you. With all the recent and coming changes to election law, we need each other for support more than ever. Electronic files have made sharing information quick and easy, so please don t hesitate to call me for even the most basic questions. Here s wishing everyone a problem-free election! Legislative Committee Update By Lewis Sanders, Just a little background information to let everyone know where we are with regard to the Legislative Committee. We have developed a list of three (3) primary concerns: 1. County Centralization In Legislative Session 2003, both the Assembly and Senate proposed and/or discussed bills transferring control of voting machines from towns and cities to county boards of elections. Unfortunately, a compromise bill was never adopted. We strongly support centralization of all election-related responsibilities at the county level. This is based on our belief that consolidation will lead to greater uniformity, less voter confusion and more consistency in the delivery of all election-related services. There is an economy of scale that results in a more conscientious spending of limited dollars when those services are consolidated. The introduction of new voting system technologies coupled with the requirement that significant efforts occur for the education of both election workers and the public will be a major undertaking. Even with the significant commitment of federal dollars to help state and local governments implement HAVA, major costs associated with the development of new programs and procedures resulting from HAVA will need to be funded at the state and local level. Certain economies can be obtained more effectively through centralized boards of elections. A failure to address centralization of responsibility will leave in place duplicate levels of activity by towns, villages, cities and counties each having a share of the process with the overwhelming weight of implementation on county boards. Therefore, it is essential that boards have the ability to put into place a streamlined approach to implement new federal mandates. Page 3 Essex County 2. Funding of County Boards In order to carry out the essential mandates of HAVA, it must be acknowledged that there will be an increase in county boards budgets that will not be fully funded. As local county budgets become tighter, underfunded mandates will reach a critical Election Commissioners Association of the State of New York 2003-2004 Officers & Committees Laurence F. Adamczyk President 134 W. Eagle Street Buffalo, NY 14202 716-858-8891 Elizabeth Cree First Vice-President Thomas Burke Second Vice-President continued on Page 6 Thomas F. Turco Third Vice-President Robert Brehm Chairperson, Executive Committee Ruth Same Vice Chairperson, Executive Committee David Gamache Chairman, Legislative Committee Sue Fries Secretary - Treasurer 302 Court Street Little Valley, NY 14755 Voice: 716-938-9111 Fax: 716-938-6347 Editor: Carolee C. Sunderland Voice: 914-995-5703 Fax: 914-995-3190 Assistant Editor: Susan Bahren Voice: 845-291-2444 Fax: 845-291-2437 Publisher: Phoenix Graphics, Inc. Rochester, NY 14608 1-800-262-3202 Fax: 585-232-5642

Page 4 A Message from the Executive Committee Chair By Robert A. Brehm, Schenectady County, Executive Committee Chair As my term as Chair of the ECA s Executive Committee draws to a close, it is appropriate to reflect on the wonderful efforts our members have put forward to improve elections administration in the State of New York. Our members have traveled many miles throughout New York State and the nation to participate in numerous public hearings and round table discussions about methods to modernize election machines, services and training. Together we have faced many challenges and we have risen to the occasion to present thoughtful solutions. Each should, rightfully, be proud of the role played to ensure fair and free elections for all New Yorkers. We are presently waiting for the State Legislature and Governor Pataki to adopt an implementation solution on how New York State will put into action the Help America Vote Act. As Commissioners, we do not shy away from the magnitude of the tasks that lie ahead rather, we welcome the challenge. To some, the 2000 General Election was an eye-opening experience which revealed the need to improve election services. Many of the issues that will need to be decided in Albany in the next several weeks and months are subjects that we have been talking about for more than a decade. Simply put, we need for tools to be in our hands which we can then use to meet those challenges and achieve our mutual goals. However, much more remains to be done. As we meet later this month in Buffalo for our 2004 Summer Conference, our Association will continue to work to strengthen the election franchise throughout New York. I know that together, we can work to ensure that everyone is afforded a fair and equal opportunity to vote. Whatever Happened to the Simple Life? By Thomas S. Burke, Greene County With the swirl of controversy surrounding the HAVA issue and how it will be implemented, it might be a good time to write about something else. For those who remember counting the votes for the first George Bush in 1988, Election Board veterans might well be asking Whatever happened to the simple life? There was a world before NVRA, before NCOA, and before DMV um on election night with reporters promising the world for a free line. Perhaps the only continuing certainty in the coming months is that the state legislators will legislate election laws, the judiciary will churn out their opinions, about half of our citizens will vote, and everyone will still believe the men and women who staff the County Boards of Elections have the easiest jobs in the world. Be Careful, continued from Page 2 registration. Some of us may even fondly recall wearing out magic markers writing town names, districts, and ballot positions on dozens of poster boards that would adorn every wall at the Board of Elections. We didn t have to concern ourselves with finding space for all the data processing equipment because most of us didn t have any. Office phone lines were at a premibelieve that to go with a paper trail for electronic machines will make Florida look like a picnic. Several New York counties already are electronic and paperless and have been for 10 years. These counties haven t reported any voter or candidate distrust. Why are we creating an aura of distrust where none should exist? If we put millions of machine ballots (for a national or state office) in a position to be challenged, we will be opening a Pandora s box that will never be able to be closed. We will be creating voter anxiety when there need not be any. We must be careful with the steps that we take and what suggestions we make to our legislators with regard to this most important issue. Once this is enacted there will be no turning back. TIP for our TRADE by Pam Welker, Yates County We receive a fair amount of registrations from other boards that we forward on, as we know other boards do as well. The following link will display a voter s county of residence as well as their zip+4, when their address is submitted: www.usps.com/zip4

Page 5 A Message from the Editor: What Is the Point? By Carolee Sunderland, Editor For the seasoned commissioners that are around, here we are with another presidential election year. For those commissioners who arrived at boards of elections in the past two years, welcome! I will admit that technology has vastly improved how tasks are accomplished. However, the number of registrations, absentee applications, ballots, questions from old and new voters, the media involvement, etc., is multiplied many times over in presidential election years. New York State Election Law also creates additional work that is required with regard to many of the abovementioned duties. Now comes HAVA. When you want the landscaper to create a garden for your yard, you may first look at plans he has laid out to accomplish what you would like your end results to be. When you ask a carpenter to build you a staircase, you make sure he has the right tools to complete your staircase so that you can use it without fear of falling. When you need a tooth removed, you make sure your dentist has the proper up-todate equipment to do his job efficiently (with as little pain as possible to you) before you let him work on you. You may be asking, What is the point? If all boards of elections are not given the plans with which to work, the tools to complete all procedures from start to finish, and the most upto-date equipment to do their jobs, do not be surprised if the garden doesn t look like what you had hoped for, the staircase isn t necessarily finished on time, and the tooth, when removed, is very painful at the end of the procedure! For the seasoned commissioners, I think you will get the point. For those commissioners who arrived after the last presidential election year, but just before HAVA, I believe you too will get the point soon. For anyone who doesn t get the point, call your commissioner and let them explain! Election Commissioners Association of New York State Regions/Chairpersons Region 1 Tony Scannapieco, Putnam Susan Bahren, Orange*** Region 2 Diane Wade, Saratoga Cathleen Rogers, Hamilton Region 3 Robin M. St. Andrews*** St. Lawrence Deborah Pahler, St. Lawrence Region 4 Sheila Ross, Otsego*** Barbara Paoletti, Broome Region 5 Robert Howe, Cortland Vacancy Region 6 Gerald Smith, Livingston*** Richard O. Stevenson, Cattaraugus Orange Dutchess Nassau New York City Bronx Kings New York Queens Richmond Putnam Rockland Suffolk Sullivan Westchester Albany Columbia Fulton Greene Hamilton Montgomery Rensselaer Saratoga Schenectady Schoharie Ulster Warren Washington St. Lawrence Clinton Essex Franklin Jefferson Lewis Oswego Onondaga Broome Chenango Delaware Herkimer Madison Oneida Otsego Tompkins Cayuga Chemung Cortland Schuyler Seneca Steuben Tioga Yates Monroe Allegany Cattaraugus Chautauqua Erie Genesee Livingston Niagara Ontario Orleans Wayne Wyoming *** notifies other counties

Legislative Committee, continued from Page 3 level. While the New York State Board of Elections is responsible for implementing certain features of HAVA, county boards have additional and unique implementation obligations that require funding above current levels. County boards will face an underfunding crisis if state legislation does not address a solution to this problem. We see that this problem can be addressed by harmonizing New York Election Law Section 4-136, Section 4-138 and County Law 361-a. We propose that counties outside New York City, and exempting current chargeback counties, be allowed the option of apportioning election expenses up to 100% at the direction of the respective county legislative body. This would provide county boards the necessary operating funds and at the same time keep the local established tradition that the county legislative body, through its discretion, apportion election expenses. County Law Section 361a, provides for election expenses to be fairly distributed to each municipal unit and, at the appropriate level, through tax bills. 3. Poll Worker Retention and Recruitment It cannot be emphasized strongly enough that there is a compelling need to increase election inspectors pay in order to attract and retain qualified persons. The current rate in many municipalities has not been effective to recruit individuals to serve this crucial function. Also, compensation levels differ from one community to another within counties, making it hard to staff election districts in the lower paying jurisdictions. Increased and standardized pay scales (excluding the City of New York as they are provided a higher rate under NYSEL Section 3-420) for election inspectors should be established. Additionally, the rate set to attend training classes for election inspectors was set several decades ago and now is considered seriously out of line with current reality. Attendance at training courses each year is necessary to ensure a level of competency. A rate continued on Page 7... Page 6 Lobby Day in Albany, New York, Tuesday, February 24, 2004 The New York State Election Commissioners Association has met twice with the Election Committee Chairmen - State Senator Thomas P. Morahan and Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright, as well as the governor s office. It has not only been enlightening but encouraging in many ways. Both committees have passed their own package for the implementation of HAVA, but have not come to an agreement on some very important issues. While in Albany the week of April 27-30 for the NYS Board of Elections conference, some of the commissioners had the opportunity to attend the opening conference committee of the State Senate and Assembly co-chaired by Morahan and Wright. The clock is ticking and hopefully the needed legislation will pass in a timely fashion before the close of this session. With Senate Front Row: Jerry Smith-Livingston Co.; Sue A. Fries-Cattaraugus Co.; Sue Slize-Erie Co.; Ruth Same-Seneca Co.; Edward Szczesniak-Onondaga Co. Back Row: William Fruci-Saratoga Co.; Anthony Scannapieco, Jr.-Putnam Co.; Steve Richman-New York City Executive Offices; William Scriber-Oswego Co.; Lewis Sanders-Essex Co.; Senator Thomas P. Morahan-State Senator, Chairman-Election Law; Laurence F. Adamczyk-Erie Co.; Norman P. Green-Chautauqua Co., Larry A. Bugbee-Rensselaer Co. With Assembly Front Row: Jerry Smith-Livingston Co.; Laurence F. Adamczyk-Erie Co.; Sue Slize-Erie Co.; Ruth Same-Seneca Co. and Sue A. Fries-Cattaraugus Co. Back Row: Edward Szczesniak-Onondaga Co.; William Scriber-Oswego Co.; Norman P. Green-Chautauqua Co.; Larry A. Bugbee-Rensselaer Co.; Anthony Scannapieco, Jr.-Putnam Co.; Lewis Sanders-Essex Co.; Assemblyman Keith Wright; William Fruci-Saratoga Co.; Steve Richman-New York City Executive Offices.

Page 7 Legislative Committee, continued from Page 6 increase from the existing minimum level of $5.00 per class to a new minimum of $25.00 would significantly improve the attendance at training classes. As county boards are required to train all inspectors annually and with a more intensified course of instruction, it will be increasingly more difficult to recruit qualified individuals. We are grateful for the services provided by New York s over 80,000 election day workers. However, new demands require that we expand the pool of trained, available and dedicated election inspectors who embody the inherent nature of this civic responsibility. Election day is on par with the same civic duty that citizens selected for jury duty demonstrate. Therefore, we support legislation which would exempt election day workers from jury duty. On February 24th, the Executive and Legislative Committees had a Lobby Day in Albany. We met with Senator Morahan and Assemblyman Keith Wright. They are now very much aware of our legislative requests and are trying to get legislation passed to achieve our goals. On April 27th, we scheduled another Lobby Day in Albany to reiterate our needs for the Association. Everyone on the Legislative & Executive Committees has been informed of our progress. I have made numerous phone calls to Senator Morahan and Assemblyman Wright each week to encourage them to get their committees together to work out any issues they may have with this legislation. Press On Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. Will HAVA require staples and staple removers? The Presidential Primary proved to be interesting for one election inspector in Saratoga County. He arrived at the polling site at 11:30, along with his co-workers for all districts in the building. The supply bag and voting machine were in place and the eager inspectors prepared to open the polling by noon. First the supply bag was opened and its contents inventoried. The inspectors compared the seal number and protective counter number with the key envelope. The public counter was at zero. Life was good. They noticed that the inspectors at the district beside theirs really needed help cranking the machine, so one inspector offered his assistance. He placed the crank on the square stud and began to crank the machine. Once around, twice around and then it happened. The crank slipped off the stud and hit the inspector square on the top of the head. His head began to bleed and ache. The ambulance was called and soon arrived Saratoga County Update By Carol Turney, Saratoga County to take the inspector to the emergency room. The hospital staff quickly closed the wound with staples. At discharge he was given a staple remover to remove the staples after seven days of healing. The election inspector returned to the polling site to finish serving, proudly, the voters of his district. Voters fight back against HAVA requirements. Saratoga County recently sent letters to voters who needed more information for the implementation of the Help America Vote Act. The response was overwhelming. We received over 612 letters the first day. We had several calls questioning the reason why the additional information was needed, but for the most part everyone was satisfied with a simple explanation. One voter however, was so outraged that he decided to returned his letter with a warning in big red letters on the back of the envelope. It read, Warning this envelope contains cilantro leaves. It caused great concern in our office but the careful hands of the commissioners opened it. The letter inside was covered in cilantro leaves and dust. The letter itself was filled out with the information requested, except the ID number. A comment at the bottom of the letter said, He didn t think it was any of our business and that we were making it up. The letter, envelope and cilantro leaves were turned over to our safety officer for further action, and we returned to our normal routine. One Vote...decided that Americans speak English rather than German (1776)...kept Aaron Burr, later charged with treason, from becoming President (1800)...made Texas part of the United States (1845)...saved President Andrew Johnson from removal from office (1868)...admitted California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho, to the Union (1850, 1859, 1889, 1890)...elected Rutherford B. Hayes to the Presidency, and the man in the Electoral College who cast the vote was an Indiana Congressman elected by one vote (1876)...does count!

Page 8 Is It One Step Forward and Two Steps Backward? By Thomas F. Turco, Ulster County Commissioner, 3rd Vice President As you recall, in the Presidential Election of 2000, major controversy arose regarding the election results in Florida. The hanging chad became famous. The problem was not with the machines themselves. The problem was with the ballot; the punch card/paper used to cast the vote. To cast a vote, the voter received specific instructions regarding the proper technique regarding the punch card. If the technique was not followed properly, the machine would not count the ballot. For most elections in Florida this was not a problem; however, that changed with the 2000 presidential race. Due to the closeness of the race, these votes were open to interpretation. These paper ballots came under scrutiny of election officials, lawyers, and finally the courts. Currently in New York, this scrutiny is only present with our paper ballots, absentee, military, and affidavit ballots. There are guidelines as to how these paper ballots should be counted. Even with these guidelines, these paper ballots are subject to interpretation and challenge. Think about elections in New York; where most of the problems occur with the use of paper ballots. The major strength of our system is the machines, which ensure the legitimacy and privacy of the vote cast by the voter. The votes casts on our machines are not subject to interpretation or the scrutiny of public officials, candidates, etc. The current legislation in our Assembly and Senate both requires individual paper voter verification. This means with every vote cast a piece of paper will be generated for approval by the voter. Once approved, this piece of paper will proceed to a lock box or other secure location within the machine. When the election is over, each individual s vote on these pieces of paper will proceed to the Board of Elections. Depending on circumstances I have heard different scenarios for example, three percent of these individual votes in each district, regardless of closeness in a race, will be recounted or verified to ensure the electronic machines are operating properly. If the race is close (definition of close: one percent, two percent, five percent. I have heard various figures) every vote cast will be recounted or verified by the Board of Elections. I have heard the arguments. These paper votes are printed by high quality printing devices within the machine; therefore, the votes will be easy to interpret. One smudge, crease, etc. and watch how quickly interpretation becomes a factor, especially in a close race. Another argument: there will be guidelines as to the recount and interpretation of these paper votes. There are guidelines with the paper ballots we currently use. In the six plus years I have been an Elections Commissioner, I have been to court numerous times and seen these guidelines adjusted based on interpretation. And do you honestly believe you could keep the candidates and political parties from challenging any vote on paper? The scrutiny of each vote cast in a close race would be very intense. As you can see, we have just weakened New York State s election process severely. There are other issues that the individual paper voter verification hinders: the certification process remember the Attorney General race between Elliot Spitzer and Dennis Vaco? Imagine counting every vote cast statewide. County boards of elections are required to certify with the state within twentyfive days of the election. And what about the comfort and confidence of the voter, which, ironically, is why some people, say we need this paper verification. As a voter, would you be comfortable, not just confident, knowing any vote you cast would be subject to review? The majority of people vote at the polling place to ensure the privacy of their vote. They want to avoid the scrutiny paper ballots are subject to. What of the visually impaired how do they verify their paper vote? HAVA is costing our country approximately three billion dollars. Our state alone is receiving approximately two hundred and thirty million dollars. If we cannot provide electronic voting machines and be confident in their performance, why revert to paper and open our process up to the same problems we incurred before machines? The problems caused by voting on paper are why we reduced our dependency on the paper ballot. We went away from paper to improve the efficiency and integrity of our election process. And if most people truly believe paper ballots are the best way to handle an election, then use our current paper ballots and do not waste taxpayer dollars on electronic machines. Let us redirect these funds where they are needed. Election Commissioners Association of the State of New York c/o 302 Court Street Little Valley, New York 14755. PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Rochester, NY Permit # 1011