BMDs work much
better for so many
During last year’s elections, the
new Ballot Marking Devices were introduced
at every poll site across the
state as part of New York’s plan to
comply with the federal Help America
Vote Act passed in 2002. This fall,
BMDs and ballot scanners will be
available in some of Otsego County’s
polling places. HAVA requires that
each state provide its voters, including
voters with disabilities, with “the
same opportunity for access and participation
(including privacy and independence)”
in the electoral process.
“I will be able to vote in the same
manner and in the same place as everyone
else,” said Charles Reichardt,
systems advocate at the Catskill Center
for Independence. Mr. Reichardt,
who is blind, has had to rely on others
to “pull the lever” for him in past elections
in order to cast his vote on the
antiquated lever voting machines.
BMDs offer a more-comfortable voting
experience: voters with cognitive
or mental health disabilities find it
less stressful than the lever machines,
voters with mobility impairments may
prefer selecting candidates with the
push buttons on the BMD instead of
filling in ovals on paper, wheelchair
users can vote without the obstacles
presented by lever machines, the audio
component allows a voter who is
blind or visually impaired to navigate
the ballot, and the BMD’s capacity to
enlarge print and color contrast will
also make voting much easier for seniors
with low vision.
Most importantly, these accessible
features allow voters with disabilities
to make their choices without relying
on anyone else. The disability and senior
communities, totaling one-third
of New York state’s electorate, can
fully and inclusively engage in one of
the most important activities of our
democratic process: to privately and
independently exercise their fundamental
right to vote.
Visit www.vote-ny.com for information
on the new voting systems.
Helen Benlisa
Oneonta
Benlisa is Project HAVA Coordinator
for the Catskill Center for Independence.
Businesses need
to fix linking road
It is an utter disgrace that the drive
linking the Southside Mall, Burger
King and Wal-Mart remains in utter
disrepair because none of the businesses
seems to take responsibility
for it. More than once I have driven
over it in the last year and there have
been potholes that are large and deep
enough to seriously damage a vehicle.
These potholes went weeks befo
re
someone finally filled them in.
I’m not sure which of the businesses
actually owns the drive, but something
needs to be done to maintain it. All
three businesses need to step up and
properly repair this drive, as it benefits
all of them and the city as it helps
to reduce traffic on the main road.
Jonathan Chambers
Maryland
No truer words
In his letter, “Left is destroying our
democracy,” on Sept. 9, Mr. Howard
Lynch ends by citing the Fox News
entertainers O’Reilly, Beck and Hannity,
as purveyors of “untwisted truth
on the air.”
While reading his rant, I was reminded
of Jack Nicholson’s line in “A
Few Good Men”: “Truth? You can’t
handle the truth!”
John A. Rudy
Cooperstown
Letters to the Editor
September 16, 2009
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