WPCNR'S ADAM IN ALBANY. By Assemblyman Adam T. Bradley, 89th District. January 31, 2005: After the 2000 presidential election it became apparent that something was wrong with our nation’s electoral process. Pictures of the Florida recount headlined newspapers with hanging and pregnant chads from outdated punch card ballots. Five years later, New York has still failed to bring the election process into the new millennium.
The effects of the outdated system are reverberating in Westchester County. In 2001, a White Plains City Council race was tarnished by broken election machinery. Now, nearly three months after Election Day 2004, the 35th State Senate is still undecided. In order to prevent election mishaps, the Assembly has always taken the lead. Recently, the Assembly passed legislation to change how elections are run in New York and to help the state comply with the federal Help America Vote Act.
We must do everything we can to ensure and restore faith in the integrity of our electoral process. To make voting easier and more accurate, the legislation:
· bans punch card ballots; replacing it with a single type of voting machine with a voter-verified paper audit trail (A.5);
· consolidates election operations at the county level – ensuring polling places are adequately staffed with well-trained workers (A.122);
· creates a statewide computerized voter registration list with proper privacy protections (A.121);
· establishes basic guidelines to ensure the disabled community has access to polling sites (A.120)
It is not enough to change the way we vote, we must also change how campaigns are financed. We recently passed a campaign finance reform measure designed to stem the influence of special interest money on elections (A.4).
The plan would provide public matching funds to candidates for statewide office who limit large contributions and campaign spending. The legislation also creates an income tax check-off to help build a non-partisan, state-controlled campaign fund for eligible candidates. In addition, the legislation:
· imposes limits on the amount of money political parties can contribute to candidates;
· bans fundraisers by state legislators or statewide candidates within 40 miles of Albany during the legislative session;
· sets limits on the amount of money that can be donated to candidates or political committees;
· closes loopholes that allow corporations to avoid campaign contribution limits by funneling donations through subsidiary companies; and
· bans unlimited “soft money” contributions to political parties’ housekeeping accounts
We must work to restore and maintain public faith in democratic elections, which are the foundation of our society. I believe the bills passed by the Assembly will help ensure citizen participation in our democracy. I strongly encourage the Senate and governor to on creating a level playing field for those seeking to run for public office, and join us in ensuring that we have a fair electoral system that the public can have trust in.
