[nfb-talk] Access to Voting

[Ed Meskys]

I had a quite good experience with accessible voting today. I voted in
Moultonboro, NH,  about 11 AM and went right thru, with no delays. When I
requested accessible voting a poll worker immediately took me to the
appropriate booth and sat me down. He asked whether I wanted to use the
telephone machine or have his help filling in a regular ballot. I chose the
machine, and he dialed the special number and handed me the phone. Only
problem I had was getting lost among the VERY large keys. I kept losing the
pimple on the "5" button.

When I finished the fax took about ten seconds to deliver my ballot. The
poll worker said he admired my courage in using the machine. He, like all
poll workers, had to use the machine so that the blind voters would not be
the only ones using it. He said he had a very hard time, and had trouble
hearing the phone without headphones with all the poling place noise.

When I delivered my ballot it was not placed in the standard ballot box
because the scanner would not be able to read it. It was in a special side
box for ballots which had to be hand counted. I am puzzled as I thought the
regularly printed special ballots should be easy for the scanner to read.

Best, Ed Meskys


Edmund R. Meskys
NIEKAS Publications
National Federation of the Blind of N.H.
Moultonboro Lions Club
edmeskys at localnet.com
322 Whittier Hwy
Moultonboro NH 03254-3627
my credo:
Clinton lied, nothing happened
Bush lied, thousands died
and over 3,000 permanently brain injured