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- ONLY CHANCE TO TEST ACCESSIBLE VOTING MACHINES!!
ONLY CHANCE TO TEST
ACCESSIBLE VOTING MACHINES!!
This week
is the only testing for the disability components of any voting
machine to be certified in NYS. The NYS Board of Elections (BOE) is testing
these machines now, one of which will be used this September and
November for the 2006 Election. There will be
no other date for
testing these machines, yet any one of them could
finally be selected by the BOE with little or no input.
Today I
took Chester Finn over to test the machines and he was the only person
with a disability that came in today. While it was great that he was able to
test these machines given his expertise and involvement with the HAVA compliance
issues both statewide and nationally, it was alarming. No one was there to test
the sip and puff or any other attachment/component. And there were errors that
we uncovered, for example, a 100 second timeout if no key or screen was touched,
a 5 second time limit to select a candidate, poor voice synthesis, etc.
PLEASE make an effort to bring as many people with as many disabilities as
possible to test these machines out before the wrong one is chosen by Friday!!!
The
location is horribly remote, but not hard to find with the directions below.
Online at
www.nysacra.org is a survey to complete once you have
tested the machines that can be returned to NYSACRA by fax 518-449-1509 or
NYSILC.
If you
have any questions, please contact Forest Cotten at 518-449-7551.
The authorization testing
will take place at the Club House at Western Turnpike Golf Course,
which is located at 2350 Western Turnpike, Guilderland, NY.
Testing will begin daily at 9:30 am. Contact the Golf Course at
(518) 456-0786 or the NYS BOE at 518-474-1953
From NYS
Thruway (I-90, I-87)
1) Take Exit
24. Stay right to pay tolls.
2) Take first
exit - Western Ave/US 20
3) Turn Right
onto Western Ave/US 20 (3.9 miles)
4) Western
Turnpike Golf Course on Left
From Northway
(I-87)
1) Go to the
end I-87 South
2) Stay in
Left lane after passing Exit 2
3) Turn Right
onto Western Ave/US 20 (3.9 miles)
4) Western
Turnpike Golf Course on Left
ONE
CHANCE ONLY!!!
MORE INFO
The State Board of Elections
will begin authorization testing of several voting systems which have been
submitted as ballot marking devices - commonly referred to as Interim Plan B.
Once authorized by the State Board, these systems can be acquired and used by
county boards of elections in 2006, to meet Help America Vote Act requirements
for the implementation of voting systems which are accessible to voters with
disabilities. |
