July 13, 2009

SANDY CREEK - Visitors to the Oswego County Fair chose vanilla as their favorite ice cream flavor, edging out chocolate by two votes, and picked Kenny Rogers as their favorite vocalist, in a test run of Oswego County's new voting system.

401 people tested the new optical scanner equipment, casting their ballot for their favorite movie, TV show, and other selections in a demonstration sponsored by the Oswego County Board of Elections.

Oswego County is one of 18 counties in a state pilot program that will use the new equipment in the September 15 Primary Election and Nov. 3 General Election. Visitors to the fair used a sample ballot, provided by New York State, to select their top choices in seven different categories.

The top three candidates in each category were:

• Best Ice Cream Flavor: vanilla, 81; chocolate, 79; and butter pecan, 48.
  
  
• Best Movie: Gone With the Wind, 92; Wizard of Oz, 64; and Star Wars, 43.
  
  
• Best Actor/Actress: John Wayne, 115; Katharine Hepburn, 64; and Meryl Streep, 59.
  
  
• Best Season: summer, 166; fall, 116; spring, 68; and winter, 25.
  
  
• Best Artist: Kenny Rogers, 81; George Strait, 73; and Neil Diamond, 66.
  
  
• Best TV Show: CSI, 84; MASH, 50; and All in the Family, 45.
  
  
• Best Soap Opera: Young and the Restless, 76; General Hospital, 55; and Guiding Light, 44.
  
  
• Proposition on Ice Cream Sprinkles: Yes, 264; No, 80.

The Board of Elections will demonstrate the new voting machines at several events around the county this summer and fall. The optical scanner system will replace all of the old lever-style voting machines at all Oswego County polling districts.

For information, contact the Board of Elections at 349-VOTE or stop by the office at 185 E. Seneca St., Oswego. Voter registration forms are available online at www.oswegocounty.com/boe/index.html.