Proposed Res. No. 1032-A
Title
Resolution urging the Senate to pass and the Governor to sign State Assembly Bill 8834 (A.8834), a bill that would amend the current election law to prevent undervoting by requiring the use of the sensor latch mechanism on Shoup voting machines.
Body
By Council Members Perkins, Barron, Comrie, Foster, Jackson, Quinn, Reed, Rivera, Sanders, Seabrook and Yassky
Whereas, The 2000 presidential elections and the subsequent vote recount ignited scrutiny of the adequacy of voting standards throughout the nation and precipitated voluminous discussion on a wide range of topics, including voter access to polls, registration and registration roll issues, voter discrimination and lost vote rates; and
Whereas, Two of the highest lost vote rates in the nation during the 2000 elections were 4.4% in Miami-Dade County, Florida and 4.0% in Brooklyn, New York; and
Whereas, New York City is in need of electoral reform because of its troubling voting history requiring three of its five counties to be subject to preclearance under the Voting Rights Act due to historical discrimination against black and Latino and other minority voters; and
Whereas, To respond to this antiquated, dilapidated and, within certain areas, discriminatory state of the voting process within the nation, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act of 2002 ("HAVA"), which was promoted as a bi-partisan reform package; and
Whereas, Assembly Member Keith Wright introduced Assembly Bill 8834 ("A.8834"), a bill that would follow Congress's lead and drastically improve the electoral process in New York State; and
Whereas, A.8834 would amend the current election law to prevent undervoting by requiring the use of a sensor latch mechanism on Shoup voting machines to alert a voter who attempts to leave a voting machine that no vote has been cast; and
Whereas, The New York State Assembly passed A.8834 on June 17, 2003, whereupon it was delivered to the Senate; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York urges the Senate to pass and the Governor to sign Assembly Bill 8834 (A.8834), a bill that would drastically improve the electoral process in New York State by amending the current election law to prevent undervoting by requiring the use of a sensor latch mechanism on Shoup voting machines to alert a voter who attempts to leave a voting machine that no vote has been cast.
LS# 2884
MT
9/30/2003 3:31 PM