BRUNO: SPECIAL VOTING TASK FORCE UNVEILS LATEST IN ELECTION TECHNOLOGY

Thursday, January 4, 2001

Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno today joined members of the Senate Special Task Force on Voter Participation at a display of new, electronic voting technology and announced that the Special Task Force has begun fact-finding visits to local Boards of Elections around the state.

The Special Task Force, which was created to improve the state's election process to make it more accurate and fair, also announced that it would hold its first public forum next month in New York City to hear testimony from election experts, public officials and voters.

"In just a few short weeks, the Special Task Force has surged forward, conducting meetings with experts and professionals, reviewing available technology and setting out an ambitious plan for study and review of complex and diverse election processes throughout the state," said Senator Bruno (R-C, Brunswick), as he toured a display of various styles of futuristic, electronic voting machines at the Empire State Plaza in Albany.

The Task Force already has completed fact-finding visits to local Elections Boards in Schenectady and Greene Counties, interviewing Commissioners and other officials about a broad range of election practices and problems in the existing system. Members will review data from these visits and more than a dozen still to be conducted prior to the New York City forum.

"As these fact-finding visits demonstrate, the Special Task Force is working closely with experts and elections professionals to explore existing trouble areas within our election system in an effort to enhance voter confidence and create a more uniform system of voting so that we can prevent the types of problems we have seen in other parts of the country," said Senator Bruno.

Additionally, the Task Force is researching various technologies that are in use throughout the country and even in some parts of New York, to determine if they would help improve voting statewide.

"As Chair of the Special Task Force on Voter Participation, I am delighted to have an opportunity to make a difference that will result in more efficient elections and enhance voter confidence in a process that is the hallmark of our democratic system of government," said Senator Nicholas A. Spano (R-C, Yonkers). "There are obvious weaknesses in the structure of our current election process. The Special task Force will continue to work to identify those problems to create a more precise, fair and accurate system for voting."

Other Executive Committee members to the Special Task Force on Voter Participation include Senators Serphin R. Maltese (R-C, Queens), Michael Balboni (R-C, Mineola), Thomas Libous (R-C, Binghamton) and George Maziarz (R-C, Tonawanda). All other Majority Senators will also serve as members of the Special Task Force.

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