New Jersey must replace voting machines

TRENTON, N.J., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- A judge ruled Wednesday that New Jersey officials must replace 10,000 electronic voting machines with appropriate devices by next year.

Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg determined the voting devices must be swapped out to comply with state law requiring all electronic voting machines to come equipped with operational printers, The Star-Ledger reported. The voting machines in question were found to have deficient printers this summer, prompting the Superior Court case, the Newark newspaper said.

With the state Attorney General's Office saying it would take six more weeks for retesting of the devices to be completed, Feinberg r.

"It's getting too close. You need to tell me what the alternatives are," she told those officials Wednesday.

The controversy comes as voting rights activists have been urging state officials to consider using optical scanners in the voting process.

Those activists have proposed that such scanners would significantly reduce the electoral costs of printer-based devices, the Star-Ledger said.