Updated 11/03/2009 06:10 AM
How to vote using ImageCast
New York State is in transition. Out with the old and in with the new. Voters across the state will see traditional lever voting machines replaced by new ImageCast machines. Our Sarah Hagen met with board of election officials to preview what voters can expect to see at the polls.
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
CANTON, N.Y. -- St. Lawrence County Board of Election officials say the new voting process is as easy as one, two, three.
St. Lawrence County Board of Elections Democratic Commissioner Jennie Morrill said, "They will go into the polling place and sign in as normal, except this time they will be handed a paper ballot, they will go to a privacy booth, mark the paper ballot and then proceed to the machine and feed it into the scanner."
And while it is considered easier for voters, it is also expected to speed up the final tally.
"I think it makes it more efficient for the inspectors that night, because they simply push a button and get a printout of the entire results," said Morrill.
Besides making it more efficient for polling inspectors, officials say more importantly, the new machines will give every voter the same opportunity to cast a ballot.
"We need to comply with HAVA, Help America Vote Act, so that everyone has the same opportunities. On the lever machines, people who had an accessibility issue were forced to vote by paper. They had no other option," said Morrill.
St. Lawrence County rolled out a few machines for this year's primary election and those who got a chance to use the technology are confident voters won't be overwhelmed by the process.
St. Lawrence County voter Melanie Thomas said, "I think people are a little afraid of something new, but I don't think they should be."
But whenever a new system is implemented, voters are likely to have a few concerns.
St. Lawrence County voter Benjamin Vandamme said, "I hope it's accurate. I hope they have some backup for accuracy."
New York State mandates that the board of election officials archive the paper ballots and re-count three percent of every race by hand.