[nabs-l] voting

[Manners, Derek]

May I ask what state you are from and what city you plan to vote in?  Every
state has different absentee voting rules.  As a student, this may be a
better option for you than going to your polling place and I'd be happy to
help you look into what accommodations are made in your state.  You can
contact me by email off list or by cell after 5 p.m. eastern time at
9032716494.

Best
Derek


On Thu, Jul 24, 2014 at 1:26 PM, Sean Whalen via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
wrote:

> 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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