FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DECEMBER 15, 2007

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Amicus Filed in Federal - NY State Lawsuit Over Voting Machines

Two Dozen Election Integrity Groups Back Brief to Bar E-voting

New York Attorney Andrea Novick of Election Defense Alliance (EDA) yesterday filed an amicus brief in United States v New York State Board of Elections (Case # 1:06-cv-263), tentatively scheduled to be argued in United States Federal Court in Albany on December 20 by EDA Attorney Jonathan Simon.



Coming before the Court on behalf of over two dozen election integrity groups and several prominent individuals, the suit seeks to avert the possible Department of Justice (DOJ) takeover of New York's 2008 federal election and court-ordered purchase of computerized voting machines , shown to be error- and manipulation-prone.



Novick recognized that the standoff between the federal DOJ and New York presented what Simon called "an opportunity to offer an alternative solution that moves away from disastrous experiences of other statesâ€™ use of secret, computerized electronic vote-counting equipment."

The brief argues that New York's currently-used mechanical lever voting machines are legal under the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA), if supplemented by an accessible ballot marking device (BMD) at every polling site to accommodate voters with special needs.

The brief also argues that hand counting the two federal races in New York in 2008, combined with the addition of disabled-accessible ballot marking devices, will bring the state fully into compliance with HAVA, as sought by the DOJ.