Mixed Results Over Accessible Voting
By Dave Reynolds,
Inclusion Daily Express
November 8, 2006
UNITED STATES--Regardless of
your political leanings, for an estimated 10 percent of American voters --
those with disabilities -- Tuesday's mid-term election brought both good news
and bad news.
The good news is that an untold number of citizens were able to cast a
private ballot for the first time because of new accessible voting
technology.
"The best. The absolute best," New Yorker Leslie Underwood, who is
blind, told WNYT of her voting experience. "It doesn't get any better than when
you can do it by yourself. It’s the best."
The bad news is that many still were not able to exercise their right to
a confidential vote because of glitches with voting machines, lack of training
of election staff, and inaccessible polling places.
The federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 required polling facilities
and voting systems to be accessible in time for this election.
A special HAVA hotline, that was set up by the National Federation of
the Blind, fielded 140 calls Tuesday, most complaining about problems with
polling sites in their precincts. The highest number of complaints reportedly
came from Massachusetts and New York, which still have a long way to go to
comply with the federal law.
"It is unconscionable that four years after passage of the Help America
Vote Act, some jurisdictions have simply not complied with the law," said Jim
Gashel, NFB Executive Director for Strategic Initiatives.
Related:
"Hundreds of Thousands Vote for First Time Independently
and in Private" (National Federation of the Blind)
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Election_Day_06_Article.asp?SnID=725524094
"Touch
Screen Voting Machines Make it Easier for All Idahoans to Vote" (New West
Network)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/1108a.htm
"Machine's
help the blind cast their votes" (WNYT)
http://www.wnyt.com/x10693.xml?ag=x995&sb=x183
"Election
Day voting steady" (Albany Times-Union)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/1108b.htm
"State
Rolls Out New Voting Machines" (New Hampshire Public Radio)
http://www.nhpr.org/node/11788
"Secret
ballot available to more voters" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/291315_ballot07.html
"Disabled
faced glitches" (Newsday)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/1108c.htm
---
Reproduced here under special arrangement
with Inclusion Daily Express international disability rights news service.
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