ADDABBO SETS TOWN HALL MEETINGS TO DEMONSTRATE NEW VOTING MACHINES

Queens NY, August 11, 2010 – NYS Senator Joseph P. Addabbo,  Jr., Chair of the Senate Elections Committee, is sponsoring a series of Town Hall Meetings for Voting Machine Demonstrations around his district to help familiarize Queens voters with the introduction of the new optical scan voting machines in the primary elections next month.  Admission is free.

When voters show up at their polling place on September 14 Primary Day and the November 2 General Election, instead of the old mechanical lever machines, they’ll now mark their votes on a paper ballot that is run through a scanner to be recorded.  Senator Addabbo arranged for the NYC Board of Elections to conduct open
public demonstrations of the new system, using the scanner and ballot marking device, at these two confirmed locations over coming weeks (another location is pending-not yet confirmed):

August 31 -  Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps, 78-15 Jamaica Ave., Woodhaven, 7-9 PM  

September 9 - Our Lady of Hope Auditorium, 61-27 71st Street, Middle Village, 7-9 PM

Senator Addabbo and his Elections Committee have worked through many public hearings on the testing and performance of the new machines in a pilot program throughout the state.

The change is a result of the federal Help America Vote Act, which mandated that voters in New York State must have new voting machines this year. The new system electronically records a vote from a paper ballot that a voter marks.

Said Addabbo, “As we prepare for this change, I want to assure all voters that their votes will be counted accurately and will work towards ensuring the reliability of the new voting machines.” According to the Senator, the State Board of Elections engaged in a long and meticulous process over almost three years,
and examined every aspect of the programming and operation of these voting machines, including reviewing millions of lines of code to make sure that they are trustworthy and accurate. These machines have been tested more extensively and subjected to more requirements than any system in the nation, and New York State voters should feel confident that they will produce accurate and reliable results.

“As we make this transition to optical scan voting machines, I look forward to working with individuals across our city to educate voters on their use. I also plan on working with the City Board of Elections to reach out to different communities and districts to ensure they have the necessary resources to successfully complete this transition and have an efficient Election Day operation,” concluded Addabbo. 

For more information, please call Senator Addabbo’s Howard Beach district office, 718-738-1111 or his Middle Village satellite district office, 718-497-1630.

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