[nFBMI-Talk] Another negative voting experience
Mary Ann Robinson
brightsmile1953 at comcast.net
Wed Aug 8 19:36:26 UTC 2018
I had a similar experience. There were no directions when I began voting.
I thought I marked my ballot completely. Apparently, I didn't. The polling
worker ended up "helping" with that.
My ballot printed on a different sheet of paper; and obviously it wasn't a
secret ballot. This was the worst experience I have had in all the years I
have been voting independently.
I would suggest that anyone who had a negative experience call the
department of elections at 800-292-5973.
Mary Ann Robinson
From: Posont, Donna via NFBMI-Talk
Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2018 8:42 PM
To: 'Mark Eagle' ; 'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List'
Cc: Posont, Donna
Subject: Re: [nFBMI-Talk] New voting machines a challenge for Michigan's
blind voters Paul Egan
Hi, I would like to share my experience with the VAT machine. The pole
worker could not get the audio to work and he wanted to vote for me with the
touch screen and I told him that was not going to happen. He called someone
from the city of Dearborn and I sat and waited for a while. When the lady
came I kept saying hello and there was no answer and then I asked the guy
where she was and he said that she was stansing right next to me. Then I
asked for her name. She did answer me. The guy told her that earlier in the
day another blind person came and that person let him mark the ballot with
the touch screen. She said, " I am guessing that is not happening here". I
said I wanted to vote myself with a secret ballot. She got the audio working
and I said that I wanted the screen turned off. She said that she could not
do that and I said that I wanted to vote with a secret ballot. She got
irritated and said, "We are not watching you, we are standing on the other
side. I said, "Is that your final answer and she said yes so I went ahead
and used the machine to vote. I used the machine, but, it was more confusing
than the automark used to be. I was not going to give up my right to vote,
but, in order to do that I had to give up my right to cast a secret ballot.
Some change needs to occur before November.
-----Original Message-----
From: NFBMI-Talk <nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Mark Eagle via
NFBMI-Talk
Sent: Tuesday, August 7, 2018 5:33 PM
To: NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Mark Eagle <markaeagle at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [nFBMI-Talk] New voting machines a challenge for Michigan's
blind voters Paul Egan
Hi everyone,
What is really upsetting is that neither the Hart or Dominion machines allow
deaf-blind persons to vote. No refreshable braille displays. Other groups
representing persons with disabilities like quadriplegic have complained the
number of keystrokes Dominion requires to complete a ballot is much more
than the Automark by far. These two machines need to be banned from the
November's election. The machines don't allow secret and independent voting.
They violate the 14th amendment's equal protection clause, HAVA and Michigan
election law.
Mark Eagle
From: Elizabeth Mohnke via NFBMI-Talk <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
To: NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Elizabeth Mohnke <lizmohnke at hotmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 7, 2018 4:25 PM
Subject: Re: [nFBMI-Talk] New voting machines a challenge for Michigan's
blind voters Paul Egan
Hello All,
I just wanted to let people know that this article is definitely being
noticed by others. I just saw a posting of it by the Associated Press on the
WKAR website.
It is too bad I did not know my county selected the Hart voting machines
before this past weekend. Otherwise, we could have demonstrated how
difficult they are for a blind person to use to cast an independent ballot.
I still do not understand how a spokesperson from the Secretary of State can
speak for other people with disabilities. And even if people with other
disabilities are able to use these new voting machines, they need to be
accessible to everyone, including those of us who are blind.
With the technology we have today I do not understand why there needs to be
a separate voting machine for people with disabilities. If cell phones and
computers can be made accessible out of the box without providing a separate
device for people with disabilities, then I do not understand why the same
cannot be done with voting equipment.
Anyway, it is nice to see this story be noticed by others despite the fact
that I was not able to cast an independent ballot when voting today. I wish
there was an accessible absentee ballot so I did not have to deal with the
problems that come with being the only blind person who votes at my
precinct.
Warm Regards,
Elizabeth
-----Original Message-----
From: NFBMI-Talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Mark
Eagle via NFBMI-Talk
Sent: Monday, August 06, 2018 1:06 PM
To: NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Mark Eagle <markaeagle at yahoo.com>
Subject: [nFBMI-Talk] New voting machines a challenge for Michigan's blind
voters Paul Egan
New voting machines a challenge for Michigan's blind voters Paul Egan ,
Detroit Free Press New voting equipment purchased by many Michigan counties,
includingWayne, Oakland and Ingham, is difficult for blind people to use
without help, advocates say. Wochit Fred Wurtzel, who is blind, attempts to
use new votingequipment in Lansing Township. (Photo: Paul Egan/Detroit Free
Press) Buy Photo LANSING TWP. ' When millions of Michigan residents go to
the polls in Tuesday'sprimary election, many will'be be using new voting
equipment for the first time. Most probably won't notice much'difference.
But much of the new equipment' needed to upgrade aging voting machines
around the state and paid for with $40 million in federal and state money '
is expected to present challengesfor blind voters. It's estimated about
221,000 Michigan residents have a visual disability, based on a 2015 survey.
Until 2002, when the federal Help AmericaVote Act became law, most blind
people had to tell their voting choices to a sighted person and trust that
person to accurately mark their ballot for them.For more than a decade,
blind Michigan voters such as Fred Wurtzel have used an'AutoMark Voter
Assist Terminal, which had a touch screen and a keypad markedwith Braille '
among other features ' to help blind voters cast secret ballots without
having to ask for help. New Dominion Voting Systems equipment 'now in use in
most Michigan counties, including Wayne and Ingham, but not'Oakland or
Macomb' also has voter assist terminals. But the keypads aren't markedwith
Braille and some of the instructions blind voters receive over headphones
reference buttons by what color they are, not where on the handset theyare
located. That's not helpful to someone who can't see. Wurtzel, who is second
vice president of the National Federation of the Blind in Michigan, saidit's
also not easy to figure out how to turn on a privacy screen that would keep
others from seeing his'ballot while he fills it out. And'he found manyof the
verbal instructions ' received through a headset ' difficult to hear or
otherwise confusing. Casting a secret ballot "is a fundamental right thatwe
all expect," said Wurtzel.' Most everybody takes it for granted. When he
first tried the new Dominion voting equipment, Wurtzel felt like he'd
"beenthrown back into second-class citizenship," he said. More: New voting
machines coming to Michigan: Here's how they're different More: Michigan
Primary2018: Voter guide for Macomb, Wayne, Oakland counties He has since
been able to experiment further with the new voter assist terminal, through
the cooperationof Lansing Township Clerk Susan Aten. Wurtzel now believes he
will be able to use the equipment to cast a secret ballot without
assistance. For blind peopleencountering the new equipment for the first
time, "it's going to be a big challenge," Wurtzel said. Still, "I want to
encourage everyone to do it, becauseunless we exercise our right to vote,
we're not going to be taken seriously. Michigan counties got to choose
between three different types of new votingequipment ' Dominion, Election
Systems & Software (ES&S), or Hart InterCivic. Wurtzel said he and about 100
other blind people got to try voter assistterminals from all three companies
during a 2016 mock election the state staged in advance of the procurement
process. He said the blind testers were unanimousin telling the state they
preferred the ES&S equipment, which was selected by Macomb and fewer than a
dozen other Michigan counties. The ES&S terminalswere closest to the
AutoMark system blind people were used to, he said. The Hart InterCivic
equipment ' chosen by Oakland and about 10 other counties 'was even harder
to use than the Dominion equipment, Wurtzel said. Dominion and Hart
InterCivic did not respond to emails seeking comment. Fred Woodhams,a
spokesman for the Michigan Secretary of State's Office, said the devices
from all three manufacturers are federally certified and compliant with
theAmericans With Disabilities Act. Some communities began using the new
equipment in 2017, he said. "We have heard from some individuals with visual
impairmentwho expressed concerns about the new devices that assist voters
with disabilities," Woodhams said. "Some of the people said they preferred
the ES&S systemover the devices from the two other vendors, or that they
liked the old ES&S Automark device that was used statewide before the
election equipment replacement.Still, many people with other types of
disabilities "give the new devices high marks," and prefer them to the
equipment used in Michigan previously, hesaid. He cited quadriplegia
and'severe brain injuries as examples of other disabilities that could be
better served by the new equipment. State officials"greatly appreciate their
feedback and will take their concerns into account as we work with the
vendors to improve the devices," Woodhams said. InghamCounty Clerk Barb
Byrum said it's "beyond concerning" that blind voters have expressed valid
concerns about the new equipment and she has been meetingwith
representatives of the blind community in recent months to make changes '
some of which will require federal and state approval. Though the ES&S
equipmentscored better than Dominion with respect to blind voters, Byrum
said she'd had problems with the level of support ES&S provided for the
former equipmentand felt she needed to go with a different vendor. Oakland
County Clerk Lisa Brown said Thursday she was not aware the Hart equipment
had been ranked lastof the three technologies by blind testers. Most Oakland
communities used the new equipment in 2017 elections and "I have not had any
complaints," shesaid. "I hope we don't have any problems," Brown said. "I
don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable voting. Wurtzel said that even after
getting throughthe voting process with the Dominion equipment,'he is
concerned the ballot he will turn in looks conspicuously different from
those that sighted peoplewill mark. Though it would mostly only become an
issue in the event of a recount where ballots are checked by hand, "this is
not a secret ballot'becausemy ballot looks different from everyone else's,"
he said. In Lansing Township, Aten said the new equipment is less than ideal
for blind voters who wantto vote in secret and without assistance'
especially during an inevitable learning curve ' but she and her staff will
do what they can to try to make thechange as seamless as possible. Aten said
she's instructing her election workers ' who aren't blind ' to use the voter
assist terminals to vote so therewill be more ballots that look similar to
the one Wurtzel uses. Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or
pegan at freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Detroit Free Press,
August 5 2018 _______________________________________________
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