Disabled Say Voting Plan Isn't Enough

Disabled Say Voting Plan Isn't Enough

By James T. Madore
Newsday Staff Writer
May 6, 2006

Some disabled voters are alarmed by a new state plan they say
calls for too few polling places where the disabled can vote
without having to ask for help in this year's elections.

The state wants to outfit only one balloting site in each of New
York City's five boroughs with handicapped-accessible voting
machines and have less than two dozen of them on Long Island.
So, people wanting to vote independently would have to travel
far from their homes, and in the city, government officials
don't intend to provide transportation.

A federal judge in Albany is expected Tuesday to consider the
plan as part of settling a lawsuit brought against New York
State for failure to comply with a 2002 federal election-reform
law. That statute required states to provide accessible voting
for the disabled at all polling places by last January.

Some levers on New York's old voting machines are beyond the
reach of people in wheelchairs and the blind cannot read the
ballot. They must rely on poll workers, but that means votes no
longer are secret.

While dissatisfied with the state's attempt to accommodate some
handicapped voters, Justice Department officials hope the judge
will ratify the plan, calling it "better than nothing."

Disabled voters are incensed.

"I'm absolutely disgusted," said Pratik Patel, a CUNY
administrator who is blind. "I almost feel [like] I am a second-
class citizen in this country."

Patel and others predicted the polling stations equipped with
handicapped-accessible voting machines would be overwhelmed, and
voters would be turned away. "This isn't going to be workable,"
said Patel, 28, of Fresh Meadows, Queens.

New York City plans to have 20 to 30 machines split between the
five special polling places - all located at Board of Elections
offices.

Roughly 494,000 city residents are disabled and eligible to
vote, according to Justice Department estimates. Voter turnout
among the disabled is likely not to be that high, said Lee
Daghlian of the state Board of Elections.

With just 18 weeks until the Sept. 12 primary, limiting the
handicapped-accessible sites ensures poll workers know how to
use the new voting machines and all ballots will be available,
said city elections spokeswoman Valerie Vazquez.

Nassau County will have 12 machines, one in each state Assembly
district and Long Beach. Suffolk will have 11, two in Brookhaven
and one each in the other towns. State records show both
counties will provide transportation to the polls.

However, Nassau Democratic elections commissioner William
Biamonte acknowledged the arrangement isn't satisfactory. He
blamed federal officials for forcing the stopgap measure. "We
should be working on 2007," he said, referring to the new
deadline for full compliance with election rules. "This isn't
helping the physically challenged community. We are
accomplishing very little."

Copyright (c) 2006, Newsday, Inc.

--------------------
This article originally posted at:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/
ny-livote0506,0,2758456.story?coll=ny-linews-headlines