Ulster County will be using new voting machines in November 2008.  Election Commissioners John Parete and Tom Turco have placed an order for 108 Ballot Marking Devices with a built in optical scanner.  The order is for the ImageCast, made by Sequoia.  I would like to congratulate Mr. Parete and Mr. Turco for working together and selecting the right voting technology for Ulster County.

Shortly after the 2000 presidential debacle in Florida, congress passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).   This law mandates voting process reform in all states.  The ImageCast Ballot Marking Devices meet the HAVA requirement for voters with disabilities.  New York State has been slow to comply with HAVA.  The federal Department of Justice issued a ruling against New York last month forcing faster action in New York.  As a result of the DOJ ruling, New York is required to have at least one Ballot Marking Device in each polling place for the 2008 elections, and to have new voting machines in place for all voters for the 2009 elections.  The Board of Elections is going beyond the DOJ decision and moving forward with a very ambitious plan to have all voters use the new Paper Ballot – Optical Scan technology in the 2008 elections.  This plan will require a lot of work by BOE personnel, new training for poll workers and voter education.  I am confident that under the capable leadership of John Parete and Tom Turco that this transition will be successful.  As chair of the Laws and Rules Committee, we have responsibility for the Board of Elections.  We will work with the commissioners and their staff to make sure that there is an orderly transition and the 2008 election takes place with as few problems as possible.

There is a great deal of information on this subject available at my web site: www.gary4ulster.com.

Gary Bischoff