Friday, February 27, 2009
Citizen Advisory Board Proposed to BOE
A public interest initiative of The Peacemakers of Schoharie County
Po Box 214, Cobleskill, NY 12043
2 January 2009
Schoharie County Board of Elections
PO Box 99
Schoharie, NY 12157
Commissioners Wilson, Hay,
Snowdon and Davies-Griffin
Last month representatives of the Peacemakers Voting Integrity Project met with the Board of Supervisors Rules & Legislation Committee to introduce a proposal for increased citizen participation in election administration and cooperation with the Board of Supervisors.
Specifically we suggested creation of a Citizens Advisory Board for Election Administration (CABEA) which would cooperate with the Rules & Legislation Committee and the Board of Elections.
The Rules & Legislation Committee agreed that the next step must include discussions with Board of Elections representatives and suggested this take place at a subsequent committee meeting. Chairman Brandow has indicated he will schedule that meeting after consultation with your office.
For your interest we have enclosed copies of our communications with the Rules & Legislation Committee which introduce the CABEA concept. Please note the concept and the suggested areas of cooperation are most certainly a work in progress which will require your input to produce a viable end product. I encourage you to contribute your expertise to the development of this idea.
As always we are available at your convenience to discuss this proposal. Please feel free to contact us at 518-287-1463 or airhead@midtel.net .
For the Voting Integrity Project
Wayne Stinson, Coordinator
CC: Rules & Legislation Committee
Enclosures: R&L Comm. Ltr., To Begin The Conversation, Democracy in Election Administration.
The Frugal Voting Booth
An Inexpensive Voting Booth Solution
Local Boards of Elections have begun to consider what additional supplies and equipment they will need to implement the paper ballot voting system. The State BOE has started the process of developing an Invitation for Bids (IFB) for voting privacy booths.
The voting equipment manufacturers have been marketing their voting booth offerings for many months already but none of the proposed systems are inexpensive. Prices range from $150 to $300 per booth. Most are unnecessarily complex or bulky, requiring way too much storage space, and very few are designed with the voter’s comfort as a priority.
The above picture shows a very inexpensive solution which offers the needed privacy while also providing greater voter comfort. The photo is of a corrugated plastic tabletop divider fabricated from a 4' X 8' sheet of 1/4" signboard which produces three voting positions on a 7' table for less than $50. The IFB could specify such a design also.
Consider that practically every polling place has ready availability of folding tables and chairs. All that is needed to turn these ubiquitous items into comfortable voting booths is the addition of privacy screens.
The folding table solution suggested above is so inexpensive that each of our polling places could easily be provided with sixteen or more voting stations for the price of one commercial voting booth. What economy! What luxury!
If commercially available booths are the only option considered a minimum number of booths will be ordered to keep costs down. This will likely result in voters having to wait in line to vote. And, if the less expensive booths, which require the voter to remain standing while completing their ballot, are chosen the elderly and infirm will suffer discomfort and possibly be discouraged from voting at all.
The picture at right shows another frugal solution: a corrugated cardboard privacy carrel available from office supply services. If a more durable product is desired the IFB could specify corrugated plastic construction.Given the present economic pressures we believe such a frugal solution is almost unavoidable. We hope the State BOE, their testing oversight contractor NYSTEC and the State OGS will give this suggestion serious consideration.
For the Voting Integrity Project,