[nfbwatlk] Oregon looks to iPad to make voting easier forthose with disabilities, The Oregonian, November 7 2011

Thu Nov 10 15:27:35 UTC 2011

And, of course, you don't sign a secret ballot.  (grin.)  You sign a separate document, whether it be an envelope in the case of mail in ballots, or an authentication sheet in the case of the old polling place.

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Mike Freeman
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2011 5:59 PM
To: 'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Oregon looks to iPad to make voting easier forthose with disabilities, The Oregonian, November 7 2011

MMM ... I figured one would have to sign the printed ballot rather than
signing the electronic copy before printing.

Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of SA Mobile
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2011 5:24 PM
To: NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Oregon looks to iPad to make voting easier forthose
with disabilities, The Oregonian, November 7 2011

Well, signing could be done independently depending on how ballots are
created. If it's an accessible app,VO could help someone find a signature
field where they sign in app before printing. A web site accessed throught
the iPad could work the same way. One could enter a signature or a special
code before printing.

Respectfully,
Jedi

Sent from my iPhone

On 09/11/2011, at 4:46 PM, "Albert Sanchez" <albertsanchez at suddenlink.net>
wrote:

> Hi All
> Here in Greenville North Carolina we have what I consider to be a 
> perfectly secret ballot system. When Gerrie and I voted yesterday we 
> arranged our own transportation to the polling location, walked in and 
> found our correct location, got our paper ballot then went to where 
> the AutoMark talking voting machine was located. This machine has a 
> headset plugged in. First it instructs you to insert your ballot into 
> the machine then with the up and down arrows choose the instructions 
> screen. Then you right arrow into the election info, in this case the 
> Mayor's race. Having found that info you arrow up or down through the 
> choices then press the "select" button when you have highlited your 
> choice. Then you right arrow again to the City Council at large race, 
> up or down arrow and select your choice. When you have reached the 
> last race the machine reads back your choices, allowing you to make 
> changes if you want. Then you have the print ballot option which marks 
> your ballot then return
 s it to you.  In addition to the arrow and select buttons the machine has
buttons to adjust the volume and speed, replay the choice and turn the
display screen on or off. When you receive your marked ballot back from the
machine you then go over to the "ballot box" machine into which you insert
the ballot which, as I understand it, reads the ballot, drops it into the
storage area at the bottom of the machine and records the information on a
storage media to be counted and confirmed later. This whole process took
about five minutes for each of us. We both cast our ballot without
assistance from the polling place workers. This is the best system that I
have ever seen; total accessability and completely secret.
> 
> Albert Sanchez
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Prows, Bennett (HHS/OCR)" 
> <Bennett.Prows at HHS.GOV>
> To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2011 4:45 PM
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Oregon looks to iPad to make voting easier 
> forthose with disabilities, The Oregonian, November 7 2011
> 
> 
>> Well, Mike, the use of a "trusted" amanuensis is of course one answer.
If we use that theory though, I guess we have to resign ourselves to the
fact that our vote will never be completely secret.  I for one think there
probably will be a way, using technology to get the privacy some crave, so
we don't require an amanuensis at some point. The closest we've gotten was
to use the voting machine at the polling place.  Vote by mail certainly has
screwed that up.
>> 
>> Bennett Prows
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org 
>> [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Mike Freeman
>> Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2011 12:39 PM
>> To: NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Oregon looks to iPad to make voting easier 
>> for those with disabilities, The Oregonian, November 7 2011
>> 
>> I confess that I agree with the attorney quoted in the article that I
don't see how use of the iPad is much of a solution for blind voters. One
still needs the printer and must sign the printed ballot (which one would
not know had printed correctly). I realize I'm a minority of one but I still
say the simplest solution is the old-fashioned one of using a trusted
amanuensis.
>> 
>> Mike Freeman
>> 
>> 
>> On Nov 9, 2011, at 10:28, "Nightingale, Noel" <Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov>
wrote:
>> 
>>> 
>>> Link:
>>> http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/11/oregon_turns_to
>>> _ipad_to_make_v.html
>>> 
>>> Text:
>>> Oregon looks to iPad to make voting easier for those with 
>>> disabilities November 07, 2011 By Ryan Kost, The Oregonian
>>> 
>>> Photo by Rick Bowmer/The Associated Press Lewis Crew, 75, receives 
>>> help from a member of an assistance team while voting on a iPad, in
Beaverton, Ore. Using an iPad, disabled voters will be able to call up the
right ballot and tap the screen to pick a candidate.
>>> 
>>> Oregon elections officials are turning to iPads in a new attempt to make
voting as easy and accessible as possible for disabled voters.
>>> 
>>> In a small pilot program playing out during the special primary election
to replace former U.S. Rep. David Wu, about 12 voters have filled out their
ballots on Apple's touch-screen tablet.
>>> 
>>> As far as elections officials in Oregon can tell, it's a first for any
state.
>>> 
>>> "We're really at the edge," said Secretary of State Kate Brown. "We want
to make voting as convenient as possible."
>>> 
>>> It's been about five years since the office has invested in a new system
for voters with disabilities -- a lifetime when it comes to technology. So,
with the system nearing the end of its life, the office decided to
experiment with new approaches, including laptops and various tablet
computers.
>>> 
>>> "It became very clear, very quickly, the iPad was the best solution,"
said Steve Trout, the state's elections director.
>>> 
>>> The iPad, Trout says, offers a huge amount of flexibility. For those who
have issues with vision, the iPad can read the ballot aloud. They also have
the option of adjusting text size and colors. Voters can sign with their
fingers or with pens, whichever suits their needs. And the tablet can be
controlled using sip-and-puff wands for those who don't have full use of
their hands.
>>> 
>>> After voters make their selections, they can print a ballot, which they
put in an envelope and sign as usual.
>>> 
>>> Elections officials have taken the new system to assisted living centers
during the primary, along with a portable printer the size of a suitcase. So
far, the results have been promising.
>>> 
>>> The tools the state has been relying on for the past five years, Brown
said, include heavily modified laptop computers that are "extremely
cumbersome and outdated."
>>> 
>>> Julie Anderson, an attorney with Disability Rights Oregon, isn't so sure
the iPad will make the portable systems all that much more convenient.
There's still the matter of the printer and some other equipment, she said.
>>> 
>>> "I'm a little leery that this is going to increase access," Anderson
said. "The issue is not the weight or the bulk" so much has having the
resources to get people out into the communities.
>>> 
>>> Still, she added, "I applaud any county's efforts to get out there" and
if the iPads help that, then all the better.
>>> 
>>> For the first go around, each of the five counties that make up a piece
of the 1st Congressional District have one iPad, all of which were donated
by Apple, Trout said. The state invested $75,000 to develop the voting
software, with guidance from community advocates. Those funds came from
federal grants.
>>> 
>>> The counties will use the iPads again for the special general election
in January. After that, officials will review the new system. If they press
forward, Trout said, he'd like to see two tablets in each county, which
would set the state back $36,000 at full cost.
>>> 
>>> Even so, that's a bargain given that Oregon spent $325,000 during the
last biennium to keep the current system up to date, he said. "It's just
easier and simpler both for the voter and the county elections officials."
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -- Ryan Kost
>>> 
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