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The County Government Committee of the LWV of Westchester has been studying election reform since the year 2000 elections. Several local leagues, working with the County Government Committee, formed their own committees to study various aspects of the election process. After agreement among the leagues, recommendations for reform were presented to the county Board of Legislators.

Since the passage of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002, the CoGovCom has continued to monitor the progress of the NYS Plan for the Implementation of HAVA. In January 2004, we sponsored a public discussion of the Help America Vote Act, in which NYS Senators and Members of the Assembly participated, along with the county Commissioners of Elections.

Following this forum, we partnered with the LWV/NYC and the Brennan Center for Justice of NYU, along with other good government groups. Our joint efforts culminated in a bus trip to Albany in January 2005, where we lobbied our legislators to reform Albany. We were pleased when many of the reforms we advocated were signed into law this year; especially, the passage of an on-time budget for the first time in 20 years.

A major problem remaining is the choice of which voting machines will be chosen for New York State and Westchester County. HAVA legislation leaves the choice of voting machines up to individual states. In NYS, the Board of Elections is in the process of writing the specifications for the new machines. County Elections Commissioners will be given the opportunity to choose among the machines to be certified by NYS. At this time, only optical scan machines and electronic machines (DREs) are being considered.

The LWV/NYS has announced its support for precinct-based optical scan machines, along with a ballot marking device to assist voters with disabilities, because they are believed to be a more secure, accurate, recountable and accessible means of voting.  OpScan machines are easy to use, take just seconds to read and verify a ballot, and are a proven technology which has been used successfully in U.S. elections for 20 years.  They are less expensive than electronic machines and do not require special transportation and storage facilities.

On September 22, 2005, the LWV of Westchester presented a forum on "New Voting Machines: Will Your Vote Count in 2006?" Panelists were: AIMEE ALLAUD,  Elections Specialist, LWV/NYS; NORMAN JACKNIS, Chief Information Officer and Technology Commissioner, Westchester County Government; and Bo Lipari, professional software engineer and founder of New Yorkers for Verified Voting.  The forum was attended by 88 persons, including legislators, town clerks, league members and other interested parties.  Attendees were asked to contact the Commissioners of Elections, state and county legislators, and manufacturers of voting machines to express their preference for optical scan voting systems.

LWV Consensus Statement on
Fees and Stipends for
County Legislators

The League believes that the fee currently paid to County Legislators for attending committee meetings should be discontinued. Legislators should be viewed as professionals fulfilling their responsibilities to the County and the electorate.

Committee meetings are an important component of the legislative process and legislators should be expected to attend such meetings as part of the job to which they were elected. We support public monitoring of legislative committees and publishing of members’ voting records to enhance committee attendance.

The League recommends that all stipends for legislative leaders and committee chairs also be discontinued, except a stipend paid to the Board Chair. Although we recognize that chairing some committees requires considerable additional attention, stipends are not necessarily based on comparable responsibilities or merit.

The stipend system in effect provides legislators with hidden raises. The League suggests that good government practice dictates that actual earnings equal published salaries. Furthermore, stipends may influence the addition or elimination of committees for political or financial reasons.

We acknowledge that most County Legislators devote countless hours to this part-time employment. When fees and stipends are eliminated the legislators’ base salary should be increased to reflect the experience, skill and time necessary to fulfill this important job. We believe the elimination of fees and stipends and the increase in the base salary should not have a negative impact on the County budget.