One of the largest unions in New York, District Council 37 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has released a “We Support” statement regarding lever voting and opposing computerization of elections.
The one page statement (.pdf) urges the State to return to the federal government the funds accepted for lever machine replacement, saying these funds “will not cover the initial or continuing costs of computerized equipment, and those costs will drain our limited resources away from other essential services at every level of government.”
Calling the move to computerized elections “unwise and unnecessary,” the union goes on to say, “New York already owns our lever machines. We have the expertise and experience to maintain and use them. We have relied upon these machiens for many years. We should not replace them.”
The Election Transparency applauds this action by District Council 37 of AFSCME and welcomes other unions, community groups, and local as well as county governments to adopt similar resolutions. To date, 11 counties in New York have passed resolutions urging the State to repeal the Election Reform and Modernization Act and allow continued use of lever voting systems.
