Keeping votes private is more difficult with new scanning system (NY now watches you vote)

The Post-Standard, Syracuse, New York ^ | November 05, 2009, 6:31AM | By Glenn Coin

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Syracuse, NY -- When Danielle Masursky cast her vote Tuesday at the Buckley Road Baptist Church in Clay, a trio of elections inspectors were standing close enough to read her ballot choices. That’s not counting the other voters who, as she carried the ballot from a table to a scanning machine, might have been able to see which boxes she had filled in.

“I think it should be secret, and nobody should know how you’re voting,” Masursky said. “I think that is a key element of democracy.”

Voters across New York state agreed, complaining to county elections boards that the live run of the new optical scanning machines opened their votes for others to see.

“Privacy is definitely an issue we have to take a hard look at, and in the wake of the pilot we’ll be having significant conversations with county boards of election to decide what to do,” said John Conklin, spokesman for the state board of elections.

The privacy issues were myriad, and voters complained that their completed ballots could be seen by elections inspectors standing near the scanning machines and by other voters, either standing in line at the machine or walking behind the tables set up for filling out ballots.

“There was no screen around the machine, and people didn’t like walking across the room with a completed ballot that anybody could see,” said Trice Quinlan, an elections inspector in Tully....

The transition from lever machines, with their sliding curtain to ensure privacy, stems from the Help America Vote Act of 2002. That required states to switch to voting systems that allow voters with disabilities to cast ballots with the same level of privacy as typical voters.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

I'm SURE that the New York Democrat Party machine DIDN'T pick these new machines so that union thugs and ACORN workers serving as poll watchers could know how we voted. (rolls eyes)

[Navy Patriot]

You shouldn’t worry just because the servers are located at the union hall.

[NativeNewYorker]

The transition from lever machines, with their sliding curtain to ensure privacy, stems from the Help America Vote Act of 2002. That required states to switch to voting systems that allow voters with disabilities to cast ballots with the same level of privacy as typical voters.

How clever of these bastards to manipulate handicapper voting convenience into eradicating ballot secrecy.

[Right Wing Assault]

We get a little folder to stick our ballot in.

[GeronL]

They could just go to card check for elections too

[skr]

So do we, otherwise I’d hold the ballot so no one can see the printed side.

[Condor51]

Syracuse, NY
When Danielle Masursky cast her vote Tuesday ... a trio of elections inspectors were standing close enough to read her ballot choices. That’s not counting the other voters who, as she carried the ballot from a table to a scanning machine, might have been able to see which boxes she had filled in.

Huh?!? WTF's up in NY?

We've been using these Optical Scanners since 2002₍₁₎.

We get a folded COVER you put your ballot in after you're done. Only the top of the Ballot sticks out. You slip that part into the scanner and the ballot feeds in. Then you give the empty COVER back to an election judge (no one is within 10ft the scanning machine).

I wouldn't vote without the cover and I'd raise holy hell until I got one!

(1) We used to have the Punch Card 'butterfly' Ballot and I liked those.
So thank you, you idiot Gore voters in FL.

[Cicero]

If citizens protest, I’d think this could be fixed. And it’s got to be fixed.

Ronald Reagan won mainly because a lot of workers liked him better than the effete Democrat choice. Their union leaders poured millions into supporting the Democrat and getting out the vote, but when they got into the booths, many of them voted their choice, who was Reagan.

We can’t afford to lose that right to the totalitarians.

[sten]

“We know how you voted... and we know where you live.”
— Andy stern, SEIU

[mdmathis6]

Here in my area, they give us a privacy folder and a three wall table...the ballot is filled out at the table then we slip the ballot into the folder then walk the ballot over to the optical scanner...the ballot only comes out of the folder right at the scanner and no one is close enough to see it unless one has some technical questions and needs some assistance. Very private otherwise. Seems like privacy folders and three walled tables are all that would be needed in the NY election centers.