Great, now the Feds are suing us

The Justice Dept. said counties must comply with a federal law on voting systems by the May primary.

The U.S. Department of Justice has waded into Pennsylvania's growing crisis over voting systems, threatening to sue the state if its counties fail to be in compliance with federal law by the May primary election.

In addition to the potential lawsuit, Wan J. Kim, assistant U.S. attorney general for civil rights, also warned in a letter to Pennsylvania Attorney General Thomas Corbett dated Feb. 21 that $23 million in federal funds might be at risk. He said he plans to file a complaint in federal court within 10 days. Triggering the threatening missive from the federal agency is the Help America Vote Act, passed by Congress in 2002 in the wake of the 2000 election debacle in Florida. The law, which standardized voting procedures, mandates that all jurisdictions upgrade to electronic machines in time for the 2006 federal primaries. Levers and punch cards do not meet that standard. The law also mandates that each precinct in the country have at least one voting machine that can be used by handicapped voters.

What a clusterfuck this is turning into. We are now looking at 2 ways of voting in the May primary. What's the rush? Isn't it better to get it right than quick?