In this presidential election, some blind voters will be marking their
ballots in secret for the first time, as the article below explains.  I'm
curious about the experience for those who had the opportunity to use one
of the machines described in the article.  If you have used one of the
machines, please share your experience.

kelly


The New York Times

November 2, 2000

Seeing-Eye Democracy

By MINDY SINK

     DURING this election season, some blind and visually impaired
     voters will be able to cast their ballots in private for the first
     time using an electronic voting system that has been adapted for
     use by the disabled.

     Geneva Teagarden of Fort Worth cast her first secret ballot in
     early voting last month with the system, which uses a modified
     portable computer called the eSlate. Previously, Mrs. Teagarden,
     who is legally blind, had had the ballot read to her as she made
     her choices.

     "It sounds silly, but it made the hair on the back of my neck stand
     up," she said, describing her first private vote. "I didn't realize
     what a privilege it is to have that right to privacy."

     The eSlate system is one of several aids for the disabled that are
     being tested this year in some states. The eSlate, developed by
     Hart InterCivic of Austin, Tex., is being used in Tarrant County,
     where Mrs. Teagarden lives. It is also being tried in another
     county, which includes parts of Houston, and in two counties in
     Colorado. The machines have been in use since early voting began in
     these jurisdictions. (Early voting is available to all registered
     voters in 13 states. The option, which dates to 1988, is intended
     to increase turnout.)

     An eSlate is a tablet-size computer with a large display screen and
     large buttons for scrolling through ballot choices and recording
     votes, which are stored in memory for later downloading.

     The eSlate can be used by anyone, but because it can sit on a
     tabletop or be held in the hands, it is especially useful for
     people in wheelchairs. For the blind or visually impaired, an
     add-on speech synthesizer is used. The machines cost about $2,500
     each, and the synthesizer is another $1,000.

     In California, voters in some jurisdictions are using an electronic
     system developed by another Texas company, Global Election Systems,
     that has been adapted for use by the blind. And blind voters in
     Rhode Island and Nevada will have audio services available when
     they cast their votes on Election Day.

     Eight counties in California are experimenting with early voting
     this year and are also testing electronic voting machines made by
     Global Election Systems of McKinney, Tex., in some precincts. The
     AccuVote-TS has a touch screen and a 12-key pad, like a push-button
     telephone's, that can be adapted for audio use with a headset and
     be used by the blind.

     "We found that blind people are familiar with the phone pad, even
     more than they are with reading Braille," said Larry Ensminger,
     vice president for business development at Global Election Systems.

     Curtis Chong, technology director of the National Federation of the
     Blind in Baltimore, said the eSlate is the machine favored by his
     organization and many blind people like himself who have tested it
     along with other machines.

     "ESlate is one of the first systems that is being marketed as a
     viable, real product you can buy today," Mr. Chong said. "Other
     machines had weaknesses like touch screens that could not verify if
     you had marked the right place on the ballot. With e- Slate you can
     hear it click as it rolls through the settings."

     In Baltimore, where Mr. Chong votes, blind voters can use the
     services of a human reader or a partial Braille ballot. Mr. Chong
     said it is difficult to ignore voice inflections of readers whether
     a friend, a spouse or an elections judge while making ballot
     decisions.

     The eSlate "cuts across every demographic because of its ease of
     use," said Neil McClure, vice president of the election solutions
     group at Hart InterCivic in Colorado.

     "It's like a laptop," Mr. McClure said, "but you don't have to know
     how to use a computer. People are saying it's easy and even fun to
     use."

     In Texas, legislation was signed last year requiring all ballot
     equipment to be accessible by the disabled, and lever machines and
     punch card technology can no longer be purchased (most are no
     longer manufactured). The use, design and purchase of voting
     systems is usually governed by the secretary of state and done on a
     county by county basis.

     "This is the next generation of voting equipment technology that is
     becoming available as computerized systems become more efficient
     and less expensive," said Jerry Meadows, senior vice president of
     the election solutions group at Hart InterCivic.

     According to the Disability Statistics Center in San Francisco,
     there are more than 30 million disabled Americans of voting age.
     The National Federation of the Blind estimates that 1.1 million of
     those voters are blind or visually impaired.

     John Novotny, 43, of Breckenridge, Colo., is one of a handful of
     disabled voters in Summit County, which is also testing the eSlate
     system. He often voted with the assistance of a friend who read the
     ballot to him. He recently voted with the eSlate.

     "I got to cast my own ballot," he said, "with the same right as
     every person in the United States, as is guaranteed under the
     Constitution."


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