By Alex Costello
Nassau County will get 450 of the machines, 240 of which it has received so far. There's only one problem: 85 percent of the 240 machines, or 204 in all, didn't work when recently tested.
Why they failed to work is a source of debate among county Republican and Democratic election officials.
After the 2000 presidential election, when ballots were challenged in Florida and had to be recounted, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act, which President Bush signed into law in October 2002.
According to the Justice Department Web site, HAVA is intended to improve elections in three ways: by creating a new federal agency to serve as a clearinghouse for election administration information; providing funds to states to improve election administration and replace outdated voting systems; and creating minimum standards for states to follow during elections.
States were supposed to comply with the law by January 2006, but New York did not. William Biamonte, Democratic commissioner of the Nassau County Board of Elections, noted that New York now ranks last among states in compliance with HAVA.
The federal government sued the state to force it to comply with the law, which is why it is now purchasing thousands of the new machines for the disabled.
Bob Brehm, deputy information director for the state Board of Elections, said New York did not comply in time because the federal government did not do so. "When the federal government passed the Help America Vote Act, they made several promises that they came short on," said Brehm.
The federal government, he explained, was supposed to make $3.6 billion in aid available to the states, but it did not. "It's closer to $3.1 billion," he said.
The government was also supposed to devise national standards for new voting machines by 2006. Brehm said, though, that the 2005 election standards Congress passed were not posted in the federal register until then.
The first voting machine testing laboratory -- the government's third requirement under HAVA -- was not certified until 2007, further complicating New York's compliance.
The state contracted with Sequoia Voting Systems in April to produce the handicapped-accessible machines. But 85 percent of Nassau's did not function properly.
John DeGrace, Republican commissioner of the county's Board of Elections, believes that part of the problem was that Sequoia, with offices in California, Colorado and New York, had to have the machines mass-produced in a short time to meet the state's time requirement.
The machines have a variety of data input methods to assist the disabled: tactile keyboards, "sniff and puff" apparatuses, and speakers that can read back a ballot that is printed out and scanned into the machine.
On July 10, representatives of the state and federal Boards of Election and Sequoia, along with independent consultants, met with county representatives to evaluate the problems with the machines. Sequoia decided to leave a technician at the county Board of Elections to inspect all the machines to ensure they work properly.
Brehm said many of the problems can traced to user error. DeGrace agreed.
Brehm attributed another common problem, paper jams, to the use of the wrong paper. "I'm not sure where they got the paper from, but that was one of the items," he said. The paper may have been too thick.
Biamonte disagreed, saying, "We had major problems with paper jams, broken monitors, LCDs that weren't working, busted wheels and misaligned verifications that create security issues," he said.
Brehm said that, even though the state hired the paper vendor, ordering the right paper is up to the counties.
Brehm also believes that Nassau may have rejected a number of machines because of damage during shipping. The state tests all machines when they arrive. If a machine passes inspection, it is shipped to a county. The state does not account for damage to a machine's exterior, so long as it does not affect its ability to work.
When county officials receive and inspect a machine, however, they can reject it if its exterior is damaged, which can happen during shipping. "Some were unacceptable dings from the county's perspective," said Brehm.
Sequoia declined to comment on why Nassau is having so many problems with the $12,000 machines. "Sequoia Voting Systems is working with the state of New York to identify and resolve any voting equipment concerns they may have," said Michelle Schafer, a Sequoia vice president.
Everyone involved agrees that the machines should be repaired or replaced by the time voters head to the polls in November. If the machines are not working, the federal government could hold the state liable for failing to make voting machines available to all. But Biamonte stressed that, for this year, lever voting machines would still be used, so people would be able to vote as they normally do.
Comments about this story? ACostello@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 207.
