[Nfbf-l] Researcher Demonstrates NEW Accessible Voting Technology on Capitol Hill

[Judith Hamilton]

It would be very interesting to know the outcome of the voting demonstration and opinions at the recent NAACP convention given the recent news snipets regarding court rulings on voting changes. I believe I heard something either here in Florida or nationwide where Congress or our Legislature has to go back and look at the "Help America Vote Act"???  The outcome of that was that our representatives were not planning on visiting the issue.  Dan or Denise: Can you help with any info. on the voting reforms??  Universal access for everything should be the way to go.
Judy

-----Original Message-----
>From: Alan Dicey <adicey at bellsouth.net>
>Sent: Jul 20, 2013 3:13 PM
>To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;@unspecified-domain>
>Subject: [Nfbf-l] Researcher Demonstrates NEW Accessible Voting Technology	on Capitol Hill
>
>Dear Friends,
>What I like about this new voting machine is that it is the same machine all people will use!
>That is, we The Blind do not need a "Special" machine, which Poll Workers might or might not know how to administer or problem shoot.
>A Standard Voting machine will serve all people, despite any Disability or not.
>With Best Regards,
>God Bless,
>Alan
>Plantation, Florida
>
>Researcher Demonstrates Accessible Voting Technology on Capitol Hill
>Published: June 18, 2013
>
>Clemson University WASHINGTON, D.C. - Clemson University researchers today
>showed lawmakers on Capitol Hill an electronic voting system they say will
>help resolve current technological challenges at the polls and restore
>voter confidence.
>
>Researchers took Prime III to the Rayburn House Office Building to
>demonstrate use of the technology to U.S. Representative James Clyburn and
>other congressional leaders.
>
>"Too many Americans face barriers to voting that simply should not be
>there," Congressman Clyburn said. "Whether it's a disability, a language
>preference or the color of their skin, every eligible American should have
>unfettered access to the ballot box."
>
>Professor Juan Gilbert, Presidential Endowed Chair in Computing, leads the
>human-centered computing division in the School of Computing at Clemson.
>He developed Prime III to ensure voting accessibility for all people,
>including individuals with disabilities. The voting technology also
>produces old-fashioned simplicity with paper ballots for backup
>verification.
>
>"It's a universal design that makes it usable by as many people as
>possible, regardless of their age, ability or situation," Gilbert said.
>"You don't have a disability machine, but one single voting machine."
>
>Current law requires voting precincts to maintain voting machines that are
>accessible for the disabled, but Gilbert notes some states experienced
>problems maintaining multiple systems and training poll workers.
>
>"Consolidating a system into one technology makes the training process
>easier and more conducive for everyone," he said.
>
>Prime III allows voters to cast ballots by touch and/or by voice. (See
>related video at
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM5DKP4c4aw&feature=youtu.be.)
>
>"If you can't see, can't hear, can't read or don't have arms, you can vote
>privately and independently on the same machine as anyone else," Gilbert
>said. "There's no ambiguity. The ballot is easy to count, easy to verify
>and can be read by optical character recognition."
>
>Prime III includes advances in four areas:
>
>◦Accessibility - Voters can choose to follow written or spoken
>instructions. Likewise, they can record their votes either by touching a
>screen or speaking into a microphone.
>◦Security - The self-contained software for Prime III is run from
>bootable DVDs. It never is reached online or downloaded to a local
>computer. Voters confirm printed ballots before they are filed with the
>electronic data so election officials can audit overall results from a
>precinct.
>◦Usability ­- The software was developed through years of usability
>testing, using focus groups that included people with a variety of
>physical disabilities. That research will continue in larger public tests.
>◦Privacy ­- Even using the voice-activated ballot, voters don't have
>to divulge the names of the candidates they support. A series of voice
>prompts leads voters to say words such as "next" or "vote." Printed
>ballots contain no identifying information; stickers with authenticated
>serial numbers are applied to each ballot to ensure that only properly
>cast ballots are retained.
>Gilbert's research team examined all aspects of the voting experience.
>"Our research team is interdisciplinary, with individuals from the social
>sciences, engineering and computing. We have experts in accessibility. We
>also have experts who deal with administration - training election
>officials and poll workers," Gilbert said.
>
>Prime III was first tested in controlled laboratory settings and later in
>national academic and trade association elections. It was used in an
>official capacity during the 2012 presidential primary election in Oregon,
>and voters who attend the 2013 NAACP conference in Orlando will use Prime
>III to elect new officers.
>
>Contacts
>Juan Gilbert
>juan at clemson.edu
>864-656-4846
>Brian M. Mullen
>Media Relations
>mullen2 at clemson.edu
>864-656-2063
>
>Reproduced from
>http://www.clemson.edu/media-relations/4953/researcher-demonstrates-accessible-voting-technology-on-capitol-hill/
>
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