Politics & Government

Bloomberg Encourages Election Board to Bring Back Old Voting Machines

Decision comes after city's election board warned that the new electronic voting machines might slow election results.

This article was written by C. Zawadi Morris.

After the Board of Elections complained they would be unprepared to handle the new electronic machines for the upcoming mayoral election, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is calling for the agency to bring back the lever voting machines, NY1 reports

The new electronic voting machines were brought in for the last election to comply with federal law. But board officials argued on Wednesday that there is not enough time between the primary and a potential runoff to certify the results.   

And so the BOE made a plea with the City to bring back the old machines for the local election, just this once. Surprisingly, tech-savvy Bloomberg agreed, calling the situation “a potential disaster.” 

"If we don't do that, we are running a real risk of not knowing who the mayor is for months," he said. 

Because this is a local election, officials argue they can bring back the old machines as a one-time solution.

But the measure still needs approval in Albany. So far, the state Senate has approved a bill to bring back the machines, but that proposal will end up pushing back a potential runoff for a week.


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