New York Gets Sued For Ignoring Voting Law

The United States Government sued the state of New York for repeatedly ignoring a federal voting reform law that requires the state to update its antiquated system.

New York officials have taken no action to improve or replace the outdated and unreliable voting system despite a 2002 law enacted by Congress – Help America Vote Act – that requires every state to do so. The Justice Department claims that New York is dead last in compliance and one local paper wrote that “this does the state’s dysfunctional image no good.”

The law to modernize voting systems was enacted to avoid a repeat of the confusion of the Florida recount in the 2000 presidential election. The federal government offered states $3.9 billion to comply with provisions for updated technology, voting security and other improvements.

New Yorkers vote with outdated mechanical lever machines and counters that frequently break down on election nights. One editorial said that the U.S. Justice Department finally gave New York a well-deserved kick in the pants over the state’s snail-like efforts to comply with the law.