Many New Yorkers will be voting in new, high-tech and expensive ways this year as the state, operating under a federal court order, phases in electronic voting machines.
Between purchasing new equipment and training people to use it, the initiative has cost about $121 million so far, according to Bob Brehm, spokesman for the state Board of Elections.
Much of this money has come from the federal government, which adopted the Help America Vote Act in 2002. That act spurred states to purchase equipment to meet new federal standards, and New York is joining them belatedly.
At the request of the state Board of Elections, many counties are about to run pilot programs, ushering in new machines for the primary, Sept. 15, and the general election, Nov. 3.
All voters in Delaware and Chenango counties and thousands in Otsego and Schoharie counties will cast ballots the new-fashioned way this year, on optical scanners.
Otsego County's Republican Elections Commissioner Sheila Ross said her county opted to make the change gradually, having voters in the 117th state Assembly District use new equipment this year while the balance of the county employs lever machines one more time.
``We chose an area close to our office for the pilot program so we can make sure everything goes smoothly,'' she said.
The 117th Assembly District, represented by Republican Marc Butler, R-Newport, contains Cherry Valley, Decatur, Maryland, Roseboom, Springfield, Westfield and Worcester.
In those towns, beginning with the Sept. 15 primary, if there's a contest, voters will cast ballots on Sequoia Imagecast optical scanners.
``It's a good machine, not too hard to learn,'' said Ross. ``We're going to have demonstrations in August so people can use the new machines and ask any questions they have.''
At the polls, voters will be given paper ballots and directed to privacy booths, essentially plastic tables with screens on three sides. At these stations, they will fill in ballots with the provided pens.
A sample ballot circulated by the state has candidates listed in rows. By each candidate's name is a box for voters to mark to indicate their choices. Instructions, such as ``vote for any 1'' or ``vote for any 2,'' are at the top of the ballot.
After marking their choices, voters will feed their ballots into a scanner at one end of the voting machine. The scanner will read the ballot, count the votes and the paper ballot will remain in a hopper where it can be counted by hand in close or contested elections or as part of routine audits.
At the other end of the voting machine are ballot-marking devices to help people with disabilities register their votes. With the assistance of a computer screen, headphones, foot pedals and a sip-and-puff input device, these voters will be able to complete a ballot electronically that looks like ones filled out by hand.
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This advance is worth cheering about because it will allowed disabled people to vote alongside their fellow citizens, said Christine Zachmeyer, executive director of the Catskill Center For Independence.
``To say I'm celebrating would be an understatement; we've been pushing for this for years,'' she said Thursday.
The new equipment is imperfect, she said, but will be helpful for persons with disabilities who chose to vote at polling stations.
``I think a lot of how well it goes will depend on how the poll workers are trained and their attitude toward the equipment,'' she said.
Ross and Paula Schermerhorn, Delaware County's Democratic deputy elections commissioner, said their inspectors are being trained to make elections go smoothly this fall.
Delaware County's Board of Elections will host demonstrations of equipment in several towns beginning Monday in Davenport, said Schermerhorn.
Schermerhorn said that with the aid of federal money, Delaware County purchased 30 machines to be used at 27 polling stations. Otsego County has purchased 37, said Ross.
The machines cost about $11,500 apiece, and the counties have had to buy special $75,000 Dell computers to program their voting machines.
``We've used up most of our federal money,'' said Ross, who estimated the county had been given about $600,000.
Both counties had to hire more staff, two technicians apiece, to tend to the new machines. Unlike the lever machines that have been used locally for decades, optical scanners cannot be stored in town barns and fire houses, but must be kept in a climate-controlled area and tested periodically. Each time they are needed, they have to hauled to polling places, Ross noted.
The new machines represent more work for staff, and the new way of voting will be more expensive than using lever machines, said Ross.
`` Ballots are 65 cents apiece, and if we need 38,000 of them for elections twice a year for the primary and general election, or three times a year, when there's a special election, that's going to add up.''
But the federal government has ordered changes, the state government has consented to them, and now county boards of election are striving to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible.
``Our biggest problem may be convincing people to fill in the squares completely,'' said Schermerhorn.
Ballots marked clearly, boldy and without stray marks, will enable the scanner to keep an accurate count, she said.
If voters make a mistake on the ballot, they should contact an elections inspector, who will mark the ballot spoiled and give them a new one.
Demonstrations to be held
All voters in Delaware County and thousands in Otsego County will cast ballots on optical scanners this year, as lever machines are phased out throughout New York state.
To prepare voters for the September primary and November general election, boards of election are training poll workers and have scheduled demonstrations of new equipment for August.
In Otsego County:
Voters in the 117th Assembly District, which includes the towns of Cherry Valley, Decatur, Maryland, Roseboom, Springfield, Westfield and Worcester, will use scanners this year.
Voters in these towns are invited to try the new machines during demonstrations in Springfield, Worcester, Maryland and Cherry Valley, according to Sheila Ross, the county's Republican elections commissioner.
ä On Aug. 10, from 2 to 7 p.m., elections technicians and equipment will be at the Springfield Community Center.
ä On Aug. 11, from 2 to 7 p.m., they will be at the Worcester Fire House.
ä On Aug. 12, from 2 to 7 p.m., they will be at the Maryland Fire House.
ä On Aug. 13, from 2 to 7 p.m., they will be at the Cherry Valley Community Center.
ä In addition, a training machine will be on display at the Board of Elections office in Middlefield.
In Delaware County:
The county Board of Elections has scheduled several demonstrations to be held from 2 to 6 p.m. at various locations.
ä On Monday, officials and equipment will be at the Davenport Town Hall.
ä On Tuesday, they will be at the Downsville Fire Hall.
ä On Wednesday, they will be at the Sidney Civic Center.
ä On Thursday, they will be at the Middletown Town Hall.
ä On Friday, they will be at the Roxbury Town Hall.
ä On Aug. 11, they will be at the Hancock Town Hall.
ä On Aug. 12, they will be at the Stamford Village Hall.
ä And on Aug. 26, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., a demonstration will be held at the Delaware County Office Building at 111 Main St. in Delhi.
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