Sayville Residents Head to the Polls

Those who didn't vote in were greeted with new voting machines on Election Day.

Gone are the mechanical levers and curtained areas, replaced by paper ballots, scanners and privacy booths, all part of a federally mandated changeover brought about by Florida's fiasco in the 2000 presidential election. New York State becomes the last state to fall in line with the Help America Vote Act, which, among other things, requires a paper trail of each vote cast.

After checking in at a polling place, voters will proceed to the new booths, mark their ballots with a pen that is provided to them and vote by filling in ovals on paper ballots. Voters then take the ballot to a scanner designed to read and record their choices in about 12 seconds. Polling places with multiple electoral districts will have machines designated for each district, which will not be able to accept ballots from other districts

There was mixed reaction to the new system on Tuesday. Sayville resident Matt Haakonson liked the new system. "I felt I had more time casting my vote. It was very spacious too," he said after voting. Although his wife Donna also liked the new system, she did have some issues. "I felt a little skeeved using the same pen as everyone else but I like the system."

Sayville resident Geri Hackett had issue with the privacy, or lack of, with the new system. "I can't understand why they made the change. I feel like any privacy I had in voting has been striped away," said Hackett. "At least three people had the opportunity to see my ballot."

Hackett also said that the check in process surprised her. "I don't understand why the workers don't check ID," she said.

Check back with Patch for real time throughout Election Day.