Port Washington resident Kevin Greenstein was honored for his advocacy for the continued use of lever voting machines for school budget votes, village elections and special district elections. He was presented with a copy of the Lever Voting Machine Law signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo. The presentation took place at the Nassau County Board of Elections. His parents, Star Anthony and Larry Greenstein, were in attendance.
Three separate laws to extend the use of lever machines in nonpartisan elections were passed in the state legislature in 2011, 2012 and 2014. The legislation was sponsored by Assemblywoman Schimel in the Assembly and Senator Jack Martins in the Senate. The current law is set to expire on Dec. 31. The Nassau County Board of Elections is working with the villages, school districts and special districts throughout the transition to using optical scanning voting machines in 2016.
“I am convinced that Kevin Greenstein’s meeting with the Speaker and his counsel in Albany was pivotal in extending the use of lever-voting machines. His heartfelt testimony as a self-advocate for the developmentally disabled convinced the leadership in the Assembly,” said Assemblywoman Schimel.
Greenstein proudly admits that he has never missed an election vote. Kevin is a 2012 graduate of NYS Partners in Policymaking, an advocacy training program for people with developmental disabilities. He is a member of the Self Advocacy Association of NYS and the treasurer of Independent US, a group for people with self-direction plans. He has helped to facilitate workshops on voting and advocacy at both the local and state level.
“I am glad that I was able to keep the lever machines for a few years. I wish that voting now was as easy for me as it was with the lever machines,” said Greenstein.
Nassau County Board of Elections Commissioners David Gugerty and Louis Savinetti gave a tour of the election archives, which houses historical artifacts from past elections. Starting in 2016, the lever-voting machines will be a historical artifact as well.
Assemblywoman Schimel and Senator Martins secured $2 million for the Nassau County Board of Elections to purchase more optical scanning voting machines needed for the increased number of elections due to the sunset of the Lever Voting Machine Law.
“We are very proud that Kevin advocates so strongly for what he believes in. He takes voting and civic involvement very seriously and we are all the better for it,” said Star Anthony and Larry Greenstein.
“Kevin Greenstein represents the thousands of physically challenged and developmentally disabled voters here in Nassau County who simply want to vote in the exact same manner as everyone else. The Nassau County Board of Elections works tirelessly in a bipartisan manner to ensure all eligible voters have easy access to the voting process. Kevin is a true patriot. Every resident of Nassau County should admire Kevin’s zeal for voting, and appreciate his advocacy efforts,” stated David J. Gugerty, Democratic Elections commissioner.
