[gui-talk] FW: Times/Delta Article On IndependentVoting: 06062006

[Steve Jacobson]

Joel,

First, please understand that my comments were really made in general and I wasn't responding only to your note but to 
the issue as a whole.  There has always been a part of me that felt we had bigger issues to face than private voting.  As 
you probably already know, our right to voting machines that we can use came about as part of the Help America Vote 
Act (HAVA) and that has opened up opportunities.  My comments on not allowing this law to be violated is really more a 
statement of my own belief that even though I could live without an accessible voting machine, after all I have for thirty-
five years, we can't let the law be ignored or downplayed as has been the case in some areas.  Sorry for the confusion 
there.

What I mean by poll workers having influence is that poll workers often come from one's own neighborhood.  An 
extreme example would be something like this.  What if a poll worker was also a member of your church council and you 
were voting on an issue that required you to take a position on abortion.  What if the poll worker was the spouse of your 
child's teacher and you were voting on a school bonding issue and you felt it was not needed.   What if the poll worker 
was your child's soccer coach and you were voting on what you thought was a wasteful recreation expansion project.  
Ideally, we should be proud of our political beliefs and hopefully feel that it is our right to hold a given opinion.  Still, 
nobody else has to worry about what someone will think of how they vote unless they choose to make it known.  In this 
sense, I can understand the good feeling of knowing I will be able to cast a completely private vote this fall.  Whether 
the cost to society is worth it is a question I can't answer, but since it is the law, I will enjoy it and make use of it.  I hope 
this is clearer, and I must also comment that I have probably gone a bit off topic for this list.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Fri, 9 Jun 2006 07:01:09 -0700, Joel Deutsch wrote:

>Steve,

>I have to admit I don't actually get some of what you're saying, though I'm 
>sure it sounds more familiar to others.  No one's trying to violate anything 
>that I'm aware of; maybe you mean the ADA obligates voting commissions to 
>put blind-friendly voting equipment into place and so they should do it?  I 
>agree.  Why not.  I didn't say I was against blind friendly voting machines, 
>pleas understand.  Not a bit.  I didn't say I thought it was a waste of 
>money, or a misplacement of blind access lobbying priorities, either.  It's 
>all fine with me.  I just said I personally didn't care much.

>Before I respond to your other comment, I'll admit in a down to earth way 
>that if I found myself living in a different part of the country where the 
>prevailing social and political ethos was radically different from what I'm 
>comfortable with-- I don't want to start anything by being more specific or 
>vivid than that-- I might feel perhaps self conscious about a poll worker 
>taking a dislike to me as he or she punched out chads on a ballot for 
>candidates and issues hateful to him or her.  But even then, that's not the 
>same as fear or intimidation.  In other words, I'm asking you now, what are 
>you talking about, referring to a poll worker who has influence?  What kind 
>of influence?  Some sort of power over a voter?  You mean the way a racist 
>white poll worker might have power over the one black voter that had somehow 
>slipped by the poll tax and literacy test blockades in his little town 
>during the time of Jim Crow, and whom he could threaten with violence or 
>loss of a job if he caught him not voting for the right sheriff or mayor? 
>Are there blind voters who actually feel that poll workers have some power 
>over them?  That's precisely what I was asking, and you seem to have 
>actually confirmed without saying so that this could be the case.  Now, let 
>me ask this:  Do you thin that's because the blind voter in such a case 
>feels infantilized by having to ask for help, and thus turns into a 
>compliant or scared little kid in the voting booth with the "adult" helper? 
>Or is it possible that there are actually some poll workers who let a blind 
>voter actually know what their own political sentiments are, and try to 
>intimidate them into voting in accord with those preferences, and sometimes 
>succeed?  I feel awkward asking these questions, because it is starting to 
>look as if there could be a hole nightmarish scenario around blind voting 
>that I would never have imagined.  How on earth can a poll worker have any 
>influence at all on anyone?  And in fact, why on earth would a proper poll 
>worker let anyone who comes in to vote know anything about their own 
>political preferences?  That's not only funky, it's almost certainly an 
>actual violation of duties as a poll worker.

>As far as drawing blind voters into participation, that's a whole other 
>topic, I think.  If a lot of blind Americans are disaffected politically, by 
>which I do *not* mean "disenfranchised" but rather disinterested and 
>apathetic, that isn't the fault of having to ask someone to punch a few 
>holes in a card.  As I said, while I can see how people might feel nice to 
>be able to vote for themselves, I've never given this a single thought, just 
>learned to ask for help.  Never a troubled moment about it.  I think it's 
>the reasons for the apathy and disconnectedness that have to be addressed, 
>before the voting paraphernalia.
>oting boothstioic drwai

>Any other takers on this question?
>Joel

>From: "Steve Jacobson" <steve.jacobson at visi.com>
>To: "NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Friday, June 09, 2006 5:33 AM
>Subject: Re: [gui-talk] FW: Times/Delta Article On IndependentVoting: 
>06062006


>My guess is that you have never voted with a poll worker whom you knew or 
>who may have been in a position of some
>influence that could affect you.  I have usually been pretty open about my 
>political beliefs so it has never been a big
>issue with me, but I was surprised when I was put in the position of being 
>helped by a poll worker I knew that I did feel
>apologetic about voting in a manner that I knew was consistently different 
>than his.  I will be honest, I am not convinced
>that the huge amount of money spent is necessarily the most effective way 
>for us to be made a part of society, but the
>law passed and is being implemented, so we need to take advantage of it.  We 
>also can't let people violate the law just
>because they don't happen to like it as is sometimes the case.

>On Thu, 8 Jun 2006 21:37:08 -0700, Joel Deutsch wrote:

>>I'm fascinated.  Shocked, actually.  I quote from the story below:

>>"It's extremely liberating," McElroy said. "When you can go to the polling
>>place and cast your own ballot, it contributes to our participation in the
>>community.

>>"There was a time when I voted not by what I believed, but by what the poll
>>worker would have wanted," added McElroy, a retired Tulare County social
>>services employee."

>>Drake agreed.

>>Maybe someone else on this list who reads that knows, in a way I can only
>>guess, the factors that would result in someone saying something like this.
>>since I became unable to read print, around ten years ago, I've voted in
>>most state, local and national elections here in my Los Angeles 
>>neighborhood
>>with the assistance of one of the poll workers.  Never, ever did it even
>>occur to me to feel constrained in the slightest by what I might've 
>>imagined
>>the poll worker's political sentiments to be for that election's slate of
>>candidates and issues.  Why would it occur to me?  I was just a person who
>>used to be able to vote alone, now had a disability that made it necessary
>>to get assistance, and I was a confident, middle aged person who knew his
>>own personal, social and political values and studied the issues and
>>candidates for himself over time in the news and prior to election day in
>>the reports and recommendations articles in several different local
>>newspapers.  I wasn't a child, or a recently-freed slave, or whatever kind
>>of person would imagine the poll worker as an authority figure as if living
>>in a totalitarian society.  I can't even imagine where this is coming from.
>>Plus the poll workers treated me respectfully and I could sense without any
>>doubt onfusion that they knew that their job was to assist me, not to
>>discuss politics nor try to exert any sort of influence over my choices.
>>The whole idea is way off the wall, for me.  Now, in all seriousness, and 
>>to
>>a list that I believe has a number of subscribers, perhaps a majority, with
>>longer and deeper connections both to blindness and to the nature of the
>>blind experience than I do, I must ask this.  Both these people in the
>>article have lived nearly their entire lives sightless.  For anyone here to
>>whom it's congenial to think about social and psychological issues,
>>especially any with actual educational or intellectual background in such
>>things, could this be a psychological characteristic of some or many
>>life-long blind people?  To experience a level of intimidation such that
>>being able to vote alone would be a meaningfully liberating and even
>>astonishing experience, as these two describe it?  I know it wouldn't be
>>that way to me, should I ever get a chance to use some new voting ooting
>>machine of this sort.  I'll be glad to be able again to perform for myself
>>another function that I used to do on my own, as I once could shop for
>>groceries without help.  But that will be all there is to it.  It won't be 
>>a
>>personal or political liberation.  I really find this a disconcerting
>>revelation.  I'll bet there's quite a lot I don't know about the blind life
>>in this sense.

>>Please understand that I do not mean this question rhetorically or
>>sarcastically, nor am I trying to express anything disparaging about these
>>two blind partners in life.  I'm glad the change suits them and increases
>>their enthusiasm for voting.  But what I'm looking for would be knowledge 
>>at
>>the level of blind culture and psychology, at least insofar as what this
>>example of it can be taken to mean.

>>Thanks.  To anyone who would like to discuss this or contribute some
>>knowledgeable observations I might learn something from, but doesn't want 
>>to
>>engage in such a discussion here on the list, please feel free to email me
>>privately at jdeutsch at slextrem.com.

>>thanks a lot.  Please, no flaming.  I repeat that I'm not putting anyone
>>down or anything like that.  Thanks for understanding.

>>ershaps (weild aesitaiton espectuflly, and espectuflly, and whoeverhad
>>inf0oneighbgorhood e ow, Since>Visually impaired vote on their own
>>>By Ryanne Persinger
>>>Staff writer
>>>Voting is now one less obstacle David McElroy and Pamela Drake will have 
>>>to
>>>deal with.
>>>For the first time in their lives, McElroy and Drake, both blind, were 
>>>able
>>>to vote without assistance from friends or poll workers when they used the
>>>audio option of a touch screen voting machine in Tuesday's election.
>>>The voting machine at their polling station, Community of Christ Church at
>>>2127 S.
>>>Giddings St., allowed them to vote using headphones and a key pad with
>>>Braille and large buttons.
>>>"It's extremely liberating," McElroy said. "When you can go to the polling
>>>place and cast your own ballot, it contributes to our participation in the
>>>community.
>>>"There was a time when I voted not by what I believed, but by what the 
>>>poll
>>>worker would have wanted," added McElroy, a retired Tulare County social
>>>services employee."
>>>Drake agreed.
>>>"I think [the new system] will make me more interested and more motivated
>>>to
>>>vote,"
>>>she said. "It means more when you're actually doing it yourself. ... It 
>>>has
>>>more of an impact."
>>>Drake lost her sight at 4 months old, and McElroy has been blind his 
>>>birth.
>>>They've been partners for 13 years.
>>>Both said the new voting machine is the most convenient way they have
>>>voted.
>>>"Before, we had to go down to the courthouse and get an absentee ballot or
>>>get the help of a friend or the polling place," Drake said.
>>>Kim Shannon, county elections supervisor, said when a person is using the
>>>audio voting option on the machine, the screen will read, "audio voting
>>>enabled."
>>>That way people walking behind a blind person won't be able to see who he
>>>or
>>>she is voting for.
>>>She added that voters do not have to be blind or have a disability to use
>>>the machine.
>>>One machine was at each of the county's 75 polling stations.
>>>Cheri Olson, a poll volunteer, said using the machine is simple.
>>>"It's like playing video games," she said.
>>>McElroy admitted he was more interested in the voting machine than the
>>>actual outcome.
>>>"This is a boring election," he said. "I wasn't sure I would have come out
>>>to vote if it weren't for that gadget."
>>>The reporter can be reached at rpersing at visalia. gannett.com.
>>>Originally published June 7, 2006
>>>
>>>Steve R. Fujimoto/Times-Delta
>>>David McElroy was one of the first blind people in Tulare County to vote
>>>unassisted.
>>>They used the new touch-screen voting machines at Community of Christ
>>>Church
>>>in Visalia.
>>>McElroy writes about what the change means in a column on Opinion/ 6A.
>>>How it works
>>>Voters go to polling station, sign roster and indicate they want to use 
>>>the
>>>touch screen machine Voters turn in their paper ballot and receive a voter
>>>card Voter card is inserted into the touch screen Voter uses headphones 
>>>and
>>>a key pad with Braille and large buttons The audio lists candidates names
>>>After voting, a receipt prints
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>COMMENTARY
>>>Technology allows voting independence
>>>There are certainly challenges to being a blind couple in a seeing world;
>>>one has just been mitigated.
>>>Tuesday, June 6, 2006. Election Day in California and Tulare County. Just
>>>another in a stream of midterm elections similar to many in which we have
>>>taken part for years. Similar, yes. Exactly the same, decidedly not.
>>>
>>>For the first time in our lives, Pam and I have voted independently. For
>>>the
>>>first time, as blind people, our ballots were cast in secret with absolute
>>>privacy.
>>>Yes, the long-standing tradition of a secret ballot has now been made
>>>available to anyone whose physical disability might preclude them from
>>>marking a ballot in the traditional manner.
>>>As active participants in civic life, unfettered access to the ballot box
>>>has always been a problem. We could either depend on a trusted friend to
>>>read the ballot and mark our choices at the polling place, request the
>>>assistance of a poll worker or depend on the absentee ballot, again with
>>>the
>>>assistance of another person.
>>>For me, this issue really hit close to home not too many years ago. A
>>>highly
>>>charged issue was on the ballot, and I was certain that the poll worker 
>>>who
>>>assisted me did not share my views on the matter at hand. This made me
>>>extremely uncomfortable, as I had no wish to offend. Additionally, there
>>>was
>>>always the possibility that others in the room would have heard my
>>>selection, no matter how quietly I spoke.
>>>Therefore,
>>>being relatively certain of the fact that my one vote would have made no
>>>difference to the outcome, I voted in opposition to my belief. Pam chose
>>>not
>>>to vote at all on that issue.
>>>In subsequent years, we have completed absentee ballots, initially with 
>>>the
>>>help of a dear friend, now deceased and more recently we've gone to the
>>>elections office to complete this process. But as of June 6, those methods
>>>have, at least for most elections, been consigned to the history books
>>>thanks to the federal Help America Vote act and to modern technology.
>>>On May 30, one week before the election, we went to the Office of 
>>>Elections
>>>and were given a thorough demonstration of the machine. A simulated ballot
>>>was presented, depicting a primary election and listing names of signers 
>>>of
>>>the Declaration Of Independence.
>>>After "voting" for one candidate on the ballot, Pam wrote herself in as a
>>>candidate for President of the United States, bypassing Benjamin Franklin
>>>and John Adams. The exercise demonstrated not only our ability to cast a
>>>private ballot, but also to write in the name of a candidate should the
>>>need
>>>arise.
>>>How it works: Each polling place will have one electronic touch screen
>>>terminal, along with the traditional ballots. This terminal can be 
>>>operated
>>>via the touch screen or push button panel, depending on one's needs. 
>>>Anyone
>>>may request and cast an electronic ballot.
>>>For our purposes as blind voters, a little box resembling a VCR's remote
>>>control is attached to the terminal. With the press of a button, vocal
>>>descriptions of the ballot's choices are presented to the voter via an
>>>earphone. The screen is blank during the process. Left and right arrows,
>>>along with a "select" button allow us to move through the ballot making 
>>>and
>>>reviewing our selections, and ultimately confirming our desired choices
>>>before officially casting the ballot.
>>>The electronic ballots are stored in memory for counting later.
>>>Additionally, there
>>>is a paper readout available for hand counting, in the event of a recount.
>>>It is our hope that this is the beginning of a new era. As active members
>>>of
>>>our community, we look forward to it.
>>>David McElroy and Pam Drake made Tulare County history on Tuesday as the
>>>first blind people in the county to cast their ballots on Election Day at 
>>>a
>>>polling place without
>>>The             assistance of another party. They live in Visalia.
>>>Originally published June 7, 2006

>>Regards Steve
>>Email:  srp at internode.on.net
>>Skype:  steve1963
>>MSN Messenger:  internetuser383 at hotmail.com

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