[nabs-l] voting

[Sean Whalen]

Sophie,

Thanks to the Help America Vote Act, since 2006 each polling place in
America is legally required to have at least one machine that a blind person
can use to cast an independent and private ballot. There are several
different machines, but most I have seen are some variation of a touch
screen. You plug in headphones and the machine gives you instructions in
synthesized speech on the specifics of how it functions. Warning: some
precincts will not have the accessible machine set up and will not want to
deal with setting it up. I have had a whole range of experiences, from
walking in and voting at an accessible machine with no problem to having
workers trying really hard to convince me that I should just let somebody
fill out a ballot for me because the accessible machine is not set up/too
slow and confusing/not worth the trouble etc. However, it is your right. It
is worth noting also that very often the accessible machine is the same
machine that everybody else uses, just functioning a bit differently (think
iPhone with Voiceover on vs. Voiceover off). As a vast generalization, you
will have better luck with accessible voting in bigger cities and towns than
in rural areas. In many rural areas paper ballots are still the norm and the
accessible machine is demanded infrequently. In most urban areas they have
moved to electronic voting for all, which makes it easier. Again, huge
generalization, but worth noting. Finally, the NFB usually has a hotline
number that blind folks can call on election day if we are having trouble
exercising our right to an independent and secret ballot.

Hope this is useful.

Take care,

Sean

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sophie Trist
via nabs-l
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2014 12:52 PM
To: nabs
Subject: [nabs-l] voting

NABS friends,

I'm turning eighteen this fall, just in time to vote in my state's
senatorial elections. And I was wondering, how do blind people vote? D we
enter a voting booth with a friend or pole worker and just tell them what
buttons to push? I might be making this up, but I might have heard something
once about how blind people can get absentee ballots sent to them in
braille. Thanks in advance for your answers!

Yours sincerely,
Sophie

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