New York, keeping the turnout down

  On Tuesday, as on Election Days going back generations, millions of voters here and across the state will finally get the chance to cast their ballots in this fall's election.

   While nearly all New Yorkers have had to wait until Election Day, residents in dozens of states around the country have been voting for more than a month.

   More than 30 states allow early voting, either in person at designated polling places or by mail-in ballot.

   Elections experts say the states that allow early voting and that allow same-day voter registration have higher voter turnout than more restrictive states such as New York.

   In the Empire State, only those who can't physically get to a polling place or those who will be out of town on Election Day are able to vote early by absentee ballot.

   This means almost every New Yorker has to go to a polling place on Election Day, often waiting in line during prime-time voting hours.

   Once there, voters will be using the same levered machines they've been using for decades — with some machines dating back to the 1930s.

   Some advocates are calling for New York to change its voting laws to make it easier for people to cast their ballots, and the state soon will have to change over to optical-scanner voting machines.

   Do you think New Yorkers should be allowed to vote early without any restrictions? Would you like to see voting by mail for everyone?

   Should people be able to register to vote on Election Day, as in Minnesota and some other states?

   And why do you think states are having so much trouble finding a new, foolproof machine to replace the old levered machines and punch ballots?

— Stephen T. Watson

Comments

[Try This]

I'm down here in the backward south (Charlotte) - and I voted 8 days ago. So far over 35% of eligible voters have already done so as of today (11-1-08).

[Danno]

First off, the old mechanical voting machines are superior to all electronic methods. Electronic records can be hacked and changed without a trace, sometimes from a remote location. The mechanical machines, so long as they are watched by officials from both (or all) parties, are much harder for dishonest campaigns to beat. NY should keep the ones they have and buy up old ones for spare parts.

Second, early voting can be a problem because it, too, makes fraud easier. With several days to vote, fraudsters can move from district to district and cast potentially dozens of votes for voters who either don't show up, or are fictional. (See recent problems with ACORN registrations.) If you only have one day to do this, it diminishes the impact of the repeat voters. The early voting also makes it possible for both parties and the press to peek at results, and possibly discourage later voters from voting.

Finally, the easier it is to register at the last minute, the easier it is for political hacks and organizers to steal an election.

[HapKlein]

The worse part of the voting problem is that it is a political rather than a constitutional subject.
It should be a federal program supervised by neutral, professional staffs with audits by independent entities. The critics are correct electronic voting is entirely at the mercy of whomever owns or has access to the machine code but illegal changes can be identified.
Instead we have an incredible array of state level vote count systems conducted by political hacks looking over one another’s shoulder.
In New York we suffer expensive fragmented incoherent county systems that are consistently underfunded and wildly partisan. The current turmoil of fragmenting judicial decisions in the 26th District (Kryzan-Lee) is surely going deprive some voters their right to choose the person they believe should represent them.
Perhaps with the experiences of Florida in 2000 and the flocking of Lawyers to Ohio in preparation of litigation resulting from that state’s problems, it is time for all to realize that our lessening structure of democracy is being hurried out of existence. The vote is the life blood of the nation and we are allowing it to be an unpleasant experience.
I am indifferent whether the count is electronic or paper but would desire that the counting entities are non-partisan and the results constantly obvious.

[AdelleX]

I agree with Danno on ONE of his points: the mechanical voting machines are just fine, superior even. It's too easy to manipulate or to steal an election via electronic voting. With the old, solid WELL-CRAFTED mechanical voting machines that we use here in New York State (they used to be manufactured here in Western NY), we have a physical record of each vote. That's a good thing! As long as they are calibrated properly, the mechanical machines are accurate, inexpensive to operate, and easy to use. The mechanical machines work. Why waste a lot of money to change them to something that might *not* work as well (or to some mechanism that makes it easier for people to steal elections)? After the 2004 steal in Ohio, and after all the problems we are hearing about right now with touch-screen voting, in places like West Virginia (where votes for Obama are switching to votes for McCain before voters' eyes!), I will NEVER, EVER trust touch screen voting. No way!

Early voting is another matter entirely. We should *definitely* look into expanding voting days/hours to make it easier for working folks to vote. Early voting, it seems, has been a resounding success in other states. The logistics might be tricky, but if it's "do-able," New York ought to give it a try.

[Jayne]

My problem w/NYS voting? You must register in a party to vote in the primaries. Nonsense. I don't believe in any particular party (esp. the major ones). I like to cross party lines and write in candidates. I'm the ultimate political curmudgeon and I'm not allowed to have my say in the manner that I'd like.

[Tony]

Good! I'm glad we don't have early voting.

All early voting does is allow more time for voting foul play and deprives Americans to hear every argument and every scenario play out until Election Day. Can you imagine how mad people are who already voted for Obama, but just found out that his aunt is living in the U.S. illegally?

Bottom line: If you're determined to exercise your right to vote, you'll find a way to vote on Election Day. (And remember, you don't need to be away to cast an absentee ballot, so 'waiting in line' is not a valid complaint)

[BobbyCat]

It is a sad state of affairs that these questions are even asked. It seems to me, you're asking if New Yorkers want to join the rest of the nation in the 21st century.

Yes.

[Lydia Bezou-Hojnacki]

No need for early voting. What we need more of is absentee voting up to the day before the election. Some people (for funerals for instance)cannot plan to be away on election day, and need the option of voting absentee at the last minute.

Other than that, early voting is just plain stupid. Speaking of electronic voting, The state where I used to live has had it for many years, and the problems have been negligible. However, people must understand and be trained to know that "erasing" a vote requires that the button be touched twice. This is a panic moment for people not familiar with the mechanism of computers. I have seen people become enraged at not knowing how to undo an erroneous tap on the wrong candidate.

First and foremost, we need MORE INFORMATION in the print media about ALL candidates. Today is Sunday, TWO DAYS before the election, and all the names are finally being published.

[Buffalo Libertarian]

One of the problems with early voting is the problem that exists with the media idiots manipulating the election. As the media keeps on reporting the results of early voting, they keep throwing in little comments suggesting that a certain candidate doesn't have a chance, which results in many voters will decide not to vote because they've been told their candidate has already lost.

But since the media has a long history of manipulating the election process and, thereby, committing election fraud, they really don't care that they're going to cause a lot of people to not vote on election day.

Also, this silly notion of early voting opens up the way to significant election fraud, particularly in states stupid enough to do same-day registration. What's to stop someone from voting one day and then changing his residence a week later and voting again?

[robert james]

'Buffalo Libertarian' writes: "As the media keeps on reporting the results of early voting..."
The FACT is that the "big bad media" does not report the results of early voting, but does report the heavy turnout and the voting suppression they have witnessed.
I am a news hound, and I have yet to see a media report that has indicated the results of early voting - unless you assume that the videos of all the African-Americans waiting hours in line to cast their constitutionally-guaranteed right to vote will do so for a specific candidate, and is a "report" on the results.
Get a clue, Moron....