Washblog

Even then, they still leave many people who are disabled unable to vote independently.  Blindness is not the only disability that makes independent voting difficult; the mobility or dexterity impaired often find it impossible to use DREs.

Luckily there is a much cheaper alternative that will help most people with visual or dexterity impairments to vote independently.  Ellen Theisen has designed the Voting-on-Paper Assistive Device (Vote-PAD) with input from visually and dexterity impaired people, resulting in an alternative which provides an inexpensive, non-electronic, voter-assist method that helps most people with visual or dexterity impairments to vote independently.

The Vote-PAD can mark the same paper ballots used by most voters for subsequent optical scanning by existing equipment.  It requires no Federal HAVA certification, since it doesn't contain any software or electronic parts that would require such approval from Federal authorities according to HAVA guidelines.

The heart of the Vote-PAD is the transparent "ballot sleeve," which encloses the ballot on both sides and reveals the content of the ballot that slips into it. The Vote-PAD is composed of one custom ballot sleeve for each sheet of a ballot. The sleeves are bound together between front and back opaque covers for privacy.

Holes are cut out of the sleeve at locations where a voter can mark choices. The sleeve protects the ballot from stray marks.

A page-turning aid is attached to the outside of each sleeve and each cover to assist voters with dexterity impairments in turning the pages.

Raised dots attached to the sleeve beside each cutout provide tactile indications for voters with visual impairments. An audio tape interprets the raised dots so listeners know which hole corresponds to which candidate -- just like the tactile ballot template used in Rhode Island.

Unlike touch screens that only offer audio instructions, the Vote-PAD can be accompanied by Braille and large-print instructions in addition.

A light-sensing wand allows voters with visual impairments to review their selections. As they replay the audio tape, or re-read the Braille instructions, they point the wand at each candidate location to receive vibrational feedback indicating whether or not the location is marked.

An opaque, sliding "privacy shield" sits in a pocket inside the front cover and slides part-way out to conceal the ballot as it is being deposited in a ballot box or precinct scanner.

The overall costs for Vote-PAD are about 10% of costs for DREs, and there are no maintenance or licensing fees.  In fact, the Clerk-Recorder of Yolo County has calculated that the cost for their county to use Vote-PAD for five years would roughly be the same amount of money they had been planning to allocate for just the storage of electronic machines alone.

Why have the Washington Secretary of State and our county auditors not considered adopting this straightforward and inexpensive system to assist independent voting by not only visually impaired, but also dexterity and mobility impaired voters?  Write them now and ask them.

Martha Koester

To contact the inventor of the Vote-PAD, Ellen Theisen, link to http://www.vote-pad.us/

For the GAO report see http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1529

The AutoMark, which marks regular paper ballots with computer assistance, and which has also been favorably reviewed by disabled people, was bought by ES&S.  To promote their touch screens, they overpriced the AutoMark and instructed their sales reps not to invest effort in selling it.  (See http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002329.htm