Common Cause/NY Releases a Report on the Board of Elections New Voter Learning Centers

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NEW YORK, NY (08/11/2010)(readMedia)-- Common Cause/NY will be releasing a new report entitled "Educating the Electorate: A Report on the Board of Elections Voter Learning Centers" which looks at the Board of Elections Voter Learning Centers in anticipation of the use of the new optical voting machines for the first time this September. The previous system of switch-and-lever machines is being replaced this year by a system in which votes are cast by filling in bubbles on a pre-printed paper ballot, and then are inserted into an optical scanner to be recorded. Recognizing the challenges that the introduction of new voting machines will present to voters and the importance of the Board of Elections' education programs to familiarize voters with the machines, Common Cause/New York sent four interns to try out the Board of Elections voter learning centers, which have been set up in each of New York City's five boroughs to educate voters on the new voting system.

Common Cause/NY believes that these learning centers are an excellent idea and that New Yorkers who have an opportunity to visit the centers will find the experience worthwhile. However, some concerns were raised, specifically with how double votes were dealt with and the issue of visibility of the Centers themselves. The various Learning Centers were rated on a set of criteria ranging from accessibility and visibility to how well employees responded to questions raised by Common Cause/NY interns.

The report attempts to help introduce these relatively unknown but worthwhile learning centers to a wider audience and includes a number of recommendations for addressing various challenges, in the hope that they will enable more voters to become familiar with the new machines.

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WHO:

Common Cause of New York
WHAT:

A press conference releasing a report entitled “Educating the Electorate: A Report on the Board of Elections Voter Learning Centers” that reviews the Voter Learning Centers and rates the centers on a host of criteria ranging from visibility of the centers to the way in which staff handled questions and concerns raised, specifically as pertaining to over votes
WHEN: Thursday August 12, 2010 at 03:00PM
WHERE: City Hall Steps
New York, New York