[nabs-l] Accessible Voting

[Arielle Silverman]

When I voted for the first time in 2004 (before Help America Vote Act,
HAVA, went into effect) I was living in Arizona and I used a mail-in
Braille ballot. I was able to complete the entire process
independently and I marked my answers on the ballot by circling them
with a pen. I may have had to sign something but my signature was
never matched against anything and as far as I know, my vote was
counted properly (though my vote never really counts in AZ, but I
digress). Do any other states offer accessible Braille ballots? I
think it's an awesome idea and was surprised that Colorado apparently
does not have them.
When I voted again in 2006, I went to the poll excited about using an
accessible voting machine, but the machine was nonfunctional. My
mother and I had gone to the poll together and I was comfortable
having her fill out my ballot, so I did that to ensure my vote went
through. In that year the voting machines were brand-new and I
reported the problem to an NFB committee that was collecting reports
about the successful implementation of the HAVA regulations. I have
used the voting machines in CO with no major issues. I am shocked and
exasperated that people are still having problems getting the talking
machines to work even four years after HAVA went into effect. It is
also disturbing that a poll worker would suggest who to vote for when
filling out a ballot as a reader and it makes me worry that some poll
workers might be altering the votes of the people they assist.
It might be good for someone in NABS leadership or on the membership
committee to contact someone at national to find out what is currently
happening with accessible voting and what the major issues are. I
agree an informational call about how to use the voting machines, and
what our rights are as blind voters, might be helpful for NABS
members, although this of course is not just a student issue.
Nevertheless, young folks voting for the first time could uniquely
benefit from this info.
Arielle

On 8/27/12, Stephanie H. DeLuca <sjhhirst at gmail.com> wrote:
> This website is very informative.  The following link takes you to a page
> where they have links to several laws relevant to people with disabilities.
>
> http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=Laws
>
> In the field of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind.
>     ~Louis Pasteur, lecture 1854
>
>
> On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 10:48 PM, Stephanie H. DeLuca
> <sjhhirst at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Heh, I mean Cynthia, sorry!
>>
>> In the field of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind.
>>     ~Louis Pasteur, lecture 1854
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 10:46 PM, Stephanie H. DeLuca
>> <sjhhirst at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> I'm excited to see that other people support the idea of getting
>>> involved
>>> but sad to admit that it's a problem.
>>>
>>> My story is this:  In 2008, I went for early voting at one of the
>>> designated places in Nashville.  When it was my turn, they designated a
>>> polling machine to me.  Before I began the process, I asked about
>>> assisted
>>> voting.  Maybe I should have asked about accessible polling machines?
>>>  Anyway, he just said he'd have to help me and that was the only option
>>> I
>>> had.  I turned him down and went through the process myself (I do have
>>> some
>>> vision).
>>>
>>> It seems that the voting issues fall into a few categories:
>>> 1) lack of knowledge of rights/responsibilities on behalf of the voter
>>> 2) lack of training and knowledge of polling staff
>>> 3) lack of a functioning accessible voting machine on site
>>> 4) difficult-to-follow tutorials/instructions for the accessible machine
>>>
>>> For me, numbers 1 and 2 seem to be the biggest problems.  How do we get
>>> the word out and how do we insure that the people at the polling places
>>> are
>>> trained and that there is a funcitoning machine available?
>>>
>>> I like the idea about having demos.  Barring that, would it be possible
>>> to record a tutorial and post it online?  Maybe by someone who has used
>>> it
>>> recently?  I've heard that the tutorial provided at the polling place is
>>> often not straightforward or easy to follow and that a blind user could
>>> do
>>> a better job haha
>>>
>>> I think we should at the very least inform people of their rights.  I
>>> think finding the federal law wouldn't be too hard, but some rules vary
>>> state by state.  I'm having trouble tracking down the information for
>>> TN,
>>> for example.  Anyway, here is the federal law (I think).
>>>
>>> *Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act*
>>>
>>> The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984
>>> generally requires polling places across the United States to be
>>> physically
>>> accessible to people with disabilities for federal elections. Where no
>>> accessible location is available to serve as a polling place, a
>>> political
>>> subdivision must provide an alternate means of casting a ballot on the
>>> day
>>> of the election. This law also requires states to make available
>>> registration and voting aids for disabled and elderly voters, including
>>> information by TTYs (also known as TDDs) or similar devices. For more
>>> information, contact:
>>>
>>> U.S. Department of Justice
>>> Civil Rights Division
>>> 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
>>> Voting Section - 1800 G
>>> Washington, D.C. 20530
>>>
>>> (800) 253-3931 (voice/TTY)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *National Voter Registration Act*
>>>
>>> The National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also known as the "Motor
>>> Voter Act," makes it easier for all Americans to exercise their
>>> fundamental
>>> right to vote. One of the basic purposes of the Act is to increase the
>>> historically low registration rates of minorities and persons with
>>> disabilities that have resulted from discrimination. The Motor Voter Act
>>> requires all offices of State-funded programs that are primarily engaged
>>> in
>>> providing services to persons with disabilities to provide all program
>>> applicants with voter registration forms, to assist them in completing
>>> the
>>> forms, and to transmit completed forms to the appropriate State
>>> official.
>>> For more information, contact:
>>>
>>> U.S. Department of Justice
>>> Civil Rights Division
>>> 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
>>> Voting Section - 1800 G
>>> Washington, D.C. 20530
>>>
>>> www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting
>>>
>>> (800) 253-3931 (voice/TTY)
>>>
>>> It seems that the NFB has a lot of lawyers.  Is it possible for us to
>>> get
>>> someone trained in law to help us with this one?
>>>
>>> Here is another good resource, the Department of Justice:
>>> http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/drs/
>>>
>>> One question I have is, why aren't ALL voting machines accessible?  It
>>> seems like this is more of a software issue.  Would it not be possible
>>> to
>>> write accessible software to be used on all machines?
>>>
>>> One other thing is that we should encourage people to file a complaint
>>> if
>>> they have these aforementioned problems this year and in the future.  We
>>> (the NFB) should provide information on that, as well.
>>>
>>> While I think this is a concern for the whole NFB on a national level, I
>>> think as students, we are in a good spot to target new voters and
>>> college
>>> students who have not voted before.  Maybe we could draft a brochure
>>> about
>>> rights and responsibilities and general information (maybe even for
>>> people
>>> who aren't blind but are disabled?) and make sure it gets distributed at
>>> voter registration drives going on campus.
>>>
>>> Cindy also makes a good point about getting to the voting place.  Also,
>>> this will become even more difficult in many states that require valid
>>> state IDs (like TN, AL, AR, etc.).  How should we deal with this?
>>>
>>> In the field of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind.
>>>     ~Louis Pasteur, lecture 1854
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 5:58 PM, Cynthia Bennett
>>> <clb5590 at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>> Stephanie:
>>>>
>>>> That is a great idea. I had a similar experience as Josh as I voted in
>>>> my first election. They were the 2008 primaries, and I was very
>>>> excited. When the machine did not work, I asked a poll worker to
>>>> assist me. They filled in the ballot as I wished, but the worker did
>>>> make some comments about their preference on a politician. This
>>>> occured when I said that I did not want to vote for a particular
>>>> office, because I was unfamiliar with any of the candidates. I said
>>>> something like, "I don't want to fill in anything for this," and the
>>>> worker responded with "Oh, I heard that ___ is pretty good. Do you
>>>> want me to fill in his/her name?" I chose to still not vote for that
>>>> particular office. This practice is illegal, and I chose not to say
>>>> anything about it. But I do think that an informational call about
>>>> rights and accessible voting machines would be awesome. Unfortunately,
>>>> each state is a little different, but information about federal
>>>> mandates on the presence of accessible voting machines/rights and some
>>>> typical patterns in accessible voting in states would be great. For
>>>> example, Washington conducts mail ballots. There are a few precincts
>>>> around town, but if you work in a neighborhood in which it takes a
>>>> while to get to a precinct, you are at a disadvantage as a blind
>>>> person. So, you can either take off work and use public transportation
>>>> to navigate to one of the few and very busy precincts and wait in a
>>>> 3-hour line, or you can find a reader and disclose your voting
>>>> preferences. The other animal in this issue is that if you choose to
>>>> get a reader to fill out your signature does not match the signature
>>>> on your state ID which is kept on file, then your ballot can be deemed
>>>> as false and not counted. As a blind person, I do the best I can with
>>>> my signature, but I do think that even the most ambitious blind people
>>>> are at a disadvantage when having to match a signature, and our
>>>> ballots could not be counted, and we may not hear about it, or we
>>>> would learn of it after elections are closed. If we are afraid that
>>>> our signature may not match that of our state ID, then we can have 2
>>>> witnesses sign. But that is 2 more people that have to see my ballot.
>>>> I do not think that this practice is common within the states, and I
>>>> would definitely not like my experience to dominate the nature of the
>>>> call, but I wanted to relay it to show that I think this is a very
>>>> good idea. I would personally like some professional/legal
>>>> advice/legal suggestions on how this can be changed.
>>>>
>>>> So, if you have any suggestions on people to conduct this call, or
>>>> resources for where this information can be found, please share it. If
>>>> not, the membership committee will certainly take the initiative to
>>>> conduct an informative call if we do in fact decide to pursue this
>>>> topic. But I wanted to make sure that since you made the suggestion,
>>>> you are welcome to provide suggestions on people to conduct the call.
>>>>
>>>> I know that someone comes to each NC state convention with an
>>>> accessible voting machine to show in the exhibit hall. During this
>>>> time, people can vote in a fake election and orient themselves to the
>>>> machine. I am not sure if NC is still doing this since it has been a
>>>> few years since the accessible machines were introduced, but I think
>>>> there is still a need for outreach about accessible voting.
>>>>
>>>> Keep the good membership call suggestions coming!
>>>> Cindy
>>>>
>>>> On 8/27/12, Joshua Lester <JLester8462 at pccuaedu.onmicrosoft.com> wrote:
>>>> > Hi, Stephanie!
>>>> > That's a great idea!
>>>> > I went to my voting site, earlier this year, and the machine didn't
>>>> work.
>>>> > My Disability Rights person that works for the governor, here said
>>>> he'd come
>>>> > down, to show them how to work it, but he never showed up!
>>>> > Thanks, Joshua
>>>> > ________________________________________
>>>> > From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] on behalf
>>>> of
>>>> > Stephanie DeLuca [sjhhirst at gmail.com]
>>>> > Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 2:53 PM
>>>> > To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>>> > Subject: Re: [nabs-l] NABS Membership Call Survey
>>>> >
>>>> > I think a discussion on voting as people with disabilities would be
>>>> good.
>>>> > Since a lot of people are on college campuses, it'd be a good
>>>> opportunity to
>>>> > get involved with informing people with disabilities (mainly VI)
>>>> > about
>>>> > rights and responsibilities for voting.  I've been to/worked at
>>>> > several
>>>> > voter registration drives, and I have NEVER seen information on
>>>> > voting
>>>> if
>>>> > you have a disability.
>>>> >
>>>> > On Aug 27, 2012, at 2:32 PM, Cody Bair <codyjbair at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>> >
>>>> >> Hi All,
>>>> >> As you are probably already aware, NABS conducts monthly membership
>>>> calls.
>>>> >> In order to get this school year started we are currently seeking
>>>> >> your
>>>> >> input on what topics you would like to see us cover this year.
>>>> >> Please
>>>> >> either reply directly to this thread with your suggestions or mail
>>>> them
>>>> >> directly to
>>>> >> Nabs.membership at gmail.com
>>>> >> Sincerely,
>>>> >> The NABS membership Committee
>>>> >>
>>>> >>
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>>>> >
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Cynthia Bennett
>>>> B.A. Psychology, UNC Wilmington
>>>>
>>>> clb5590 at gmail.com
>>>> 828.989.5383
>>>>
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>>>
>>
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