[Ohio-talk] Our Voting Experience

[Eric Duffy]

This morning Shelley and I had a great voting experience. We started by using our Aira voting minutes to request a Lyft. We then used our National Federation of the Blind and Lyft partner voting code to get our $15 credit for going to the polling place. Shelley was registered to vote at the correct address. I was not. She had no problem at all. She got the audio ballot and voted without hitch. 

Because my address was not up to date, I had to vote a provisional ballot. While I was at the table taking care of my address change I heard them tell some one else that she would have to fill out a paper ballot because she was voting provisionally. I wondered what was going to happen to me. Sure enough They took me to a chair and said that their were two people one from the Democratic Party and one from the Republican Party and that they would complete the ballot for me. I said no! There is an audio provisional ballot, and that I wanted to vote privately just like everyone else does. Without missing a beat the man who was from one of the major parties took control and it was all smooth sailing from there. I got the audio provisional ballot and I voted on the machine without a problem. You must understand your rights and be prepared to be positively assertive.  I said this was a great voting experience, and it was. Some times sighted people just think it is easier if they just do stuff for us. Once they realized I was going to vote independently we had no problem. I wish our breakfast experience afterwords would have gone so smoothly, but that’s a different matter.

Eric