March 03, 2006

DOJ Sues NY State, Threatens Suit Against PA For Lack of New Voting Machines

The U.S. Justice Dept. has sued New York, as it had threatened to do, for failing to comply with federal Help America Vote Act requirements for having voting systgems "that are fully accessible by disabled voters and are capable of generating a permanent paper record that can be manually audited," according to a press release from DOJ. (Read press release.)

The DOJ had threatened Pennsylvania officials with a similar lawsuit. Several counties in that state have held up purchase of new, accessible machines pending their own lawsuits filed by voters worried about the new system, who charge that PA state law requires voter approval before new voting systems can be installed. On Thursday, however, the state's highest court ruled that Westmoreland County -- one of the counties holding up the process -- could in fact replace its lever voting machines with electronic ones without first getting voter approval, because, said the court, federal law supercedes the state law that required voter approval. More on that story here.

Follow news updates about voting access issues at AAPD's website voting issues page.

Posted on March 03, 2006