Published: September 02, 2008 11:44 pm      

NIAGARA COUNTY: Changing the vote

New equipment, change in some polling districts arrives

An unusually high number of telephone calls were made to the Niagara County Board of Elections this past week.

And the voters making them didn’t offer well wishes for the upcoming primary.

County elections officials acknowledged Wednesday that changes in polling places have upset some voters in the county’s 12 towns. 

They also say the new arrangement was not intended to anger people, but rather to save taxpayer dollars as the county responds to new federal voting regulations. 

“We didn’t do it to inconvenience people,” Niagara County Democratic Elections Commissioner Nancy Smith said. “We did it because we have to change the way we are doing business.”

What the Board of Elections has done is reduce the number of polling places countywide from 114 last year to 84 for 2008. The move was made in an effort to comply with the Help America Vote Act, a federal law that required all states to upgrade voting machines, voter registration processes and election inspector training. Starting next year, traditional voting machines in Niagara County will be replaced by new, handicapped-accessible, electronic machines that are capable of scanning paper ballots. With funds from the federal government, the county purchased 125 of the more sophisticated machines at a cost of $1.4 million.

The new equipment means changes in the way county residents vote and adjustments in the way the elections board operates. Starting in 2009, all New York voters will be required to cast paper ballots. They also will need enough private space to do so. Under the law, adequate space means local boards of election must provide chairs where voters can sit, tables where they can write and partitions to help ensure their privacy. 

Smith and Republican Elections Commissioner Scott Kiedrowski said the Board of Elections adjusted the number of polling places in the county in response to the new requirements. They started with the towns this year and are planning to reconfigure polling spots in the cities next year. 

Smith and Kiedrowski said their selection of polling places in the towns primarily boiled down to two factors: Space and cost. As a result, they favored fire halls, community centers and other locations where space was not an issue and tables and chairs were already available.

In doing so, both commis-sioners said they were able tocut expenses. 

The cost of operating the new voting machines was a factor as well. The county is required to make available one new machine at each polling place. In addition, it is required to hire two elections inspectors — one Democrat and one Republican — for each of the new machines. By trimming the number of polling sites, Smith and Kiedrowski said they were able to cut down on the added expense for hiring new inspectors for each machine. 

“We have valid reasons for doing this,” Smith said. “It was a well thought out process and have been working on this for months.”

Residents in the Town of Lewiston have already expressed frustrations over the new system. Town Supervisor Fred Newlin said the number of polling places in Lewiston has been cut from eight to three, forcing some people to drive as far as 10 miles to vote. Newlin said officials in the town were not contacted for their input before the elections board made its decision. He fears the changes will present problems for voters and may even discourage a few from voting. 

“People are predicting a very high turnout for this upcoming election,” he said. “When you compound very high numbers with new polling places, I think it’s a recipe for disaster.”

Newlin said he has written a letter to the Board of Elections to see if any changes can be made this year and he’s hopeful, at the very least, the current plan will be reconsidered for 2009. 

“I predict a lot of problems with people showing up to polling places where they voted for decades and being told ‘No, you can’t vote here,’ ” Newlin said. 

The Board of Elections mailed out informational cards last week that explain to voters any polling place changes in their districts. Kiedrowski said the Board of Elections has heard voter concerns loud and clear and remains open to making any adjustments it feels are necessary. Kiedrowski said the Elections Board is hoping the upcoming primary election will give them a better understanding of how changes in the system impacted voters. 

“We understand that we are going to maybe have to take a look at some things after the primary election,” Kiedrowski said.