NY Democratic Lawyer's Council issues response to DOJ

[garybeck]

DEMOCRATIC LAW BRIEFS

A Publication of the New York Democratic Lawyer’s Council

Volume 2 Issue 9/March 6, 2006

Fighting for Voters’ Rights and a Democratic United States



WELCOME TO DEMOCRATIC LAW BRIEFS, the official newsletter of the New York Democratic Lawyers Council. If you would like to be on our mailing list, e-mail your name, title, company, and address to [e-mail]. We’ll happily add you to the list. Check out our website at www.nyvotingrightscoalition.com.

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NEW YORK - DOJ FILES SUIT AGAINST NYS - The Justice Department announced this week that it has filed suit against the State of New York alleging violations of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, in Albany. The government’s complaint contends that the state has failed to comply with two of HAVA’s requirements governing federal elections: that states (I) adopt voting systems that are fully accessible by disabled voters and are capable of generating a permanent paper record that can be manually audited, and (ii) create a statewide computerized voter registration database. In another of this week’s ironies, the suit comes just as Albany is starting to get its act together on HAVA matters. Discussions are already underway between Albany and the DOJ which could result in a hasty settlement, possibly compromising some of the rights contained in NYS’ recently enacted legislation. The Bloomberg administration is already on record objecting to such a stopgap settlement. The New York Democratic Lawyer’s Council has issued the following letter to the editor on the subject:



The US Justice Department's lawsuit alleging that New York has failed to comply with the Help America Vote Act comes at the wrong time. Albany is finally on the right path to adopting regulations that will provide us with reliable voting systems. Legislators on both sides of the aisle recognize that it is in our best interests to have a trustworthy voting system. The State has wisely adopted laws requiring a permanent verifiable paper record for every vote cast. The state should never surrender the protections afforded by this law.


Litigation is not the proper means to choose voting machines. Too much is at stake to allow Washington attorneys to substitute their judgement for ours. New York has been careful and responsible in making its choices, avoiding the expensive rush to judgment now plaguing other states. New York is positioned to lead the nation in secure, reliable voting systems. Now is not the time for a hasty settlement with the Department of Justice that compromises these hard won protections.

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2006/March/06_crt_108.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/28/nyregion/28vote.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/03/nyregion/03vote.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin