[Mt-blind] VOTING MACHINES

[James Aldrich]

Hello!

I think we have good machines here in Montana or should I say Yellowstone 
County.  Yes, it takes time to get a new system up and running!  I wouldn't 
throw the baby out with the bath water so to speak.  Perhaps one day these 
machines could be smaller but still be ruggedly made.  They could be taken 
more easily to groups to demo how they work.  I think we should work with 
and keep what we have!  It is wonderful to actually have a secret ballot.

Dan, feel free to use any of my comments at any time.

Jim Aldrich


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "dmgina" <dmgina at qwest.net>
To: "Montana Association for the Blind List" <mt-blind at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2007 12:59 PM
Subject: Re: [Mt-blind] VOTING MACHINES


Hi there,
I would keep what we are using.
We can't let anything become an excuse for us not to keep voting.
If machines need to be fixed so be it.
It wouldn't be the first machine that broke.
We know that nothing was on the machine while we were voting.
The votes went threw and were counted with the rest when counting was being
added up for the day.
I am not sure why this article is so important.
At first, the first time, the machine didn't do the whole ballad.
But the second time it worked like a charm.
Keep encouraging blind folks to vote.
It is a step that is a thrill the first time it happens.


--Dar
wishing a
backTpack
call me at
406-259-1124
Every Saint has a past,
Every sinner has a future ,
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jerry Hutch" <modrepro at mt.net>
To: "Montana Association for the Blind List" <mt-blind at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2007 12:47 PM
Subject: [Mt-blind] VOTING MACHINES


> Dan and the list,
>
> Here is a message about voting machines and their problems that I have
> received by email.  This is for your information.
>
> OpEd News, PA, USA
> Wednesday, February 14, 2007
>
> "Daily Voting News" For February 14, 2007
>
> By JGideon
> John Gideon of VotersUnite.org
>
> According to a new report issued by VoterAction and Demos, "Direct
> Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines, once considered essential to
> ensuring private and independent voting booth access for voters with
> disabilities, often do not work as promised, according to a new report
> published today.
>
> Authored by access technology expert Noel Runyan and published by election
> reform groups Demos and Voter Action, "Improving Access to Voting: A
> Report on the Technology for Accessible Voting Systems" shows that, due to
> inadequate or malfunctioning voting machines, voters with disabilities are
> frequently forced to ask for assistance or compromise the privacy of their
> vote- severe violations of federal disability accommodation requirements.
>
> The report details significant difficulties for voters with disabilities,
> including: the lack of a controllable interface for those who are unable
> to use touch screens or tactile key inputs; inadequate audio access
> features for people with visual or cognitive impairments, with dyslexia,
> or with severe motor-impairments; and lack of privacy curtains to prevent
> others from reading the voters' selections on their visual displays. "I
> originally had high hopes for the new voting machines" said Noel Runyan,
> the author of the report.
>
> Runyan, who is blind, is a professional electrical engineer who has spent
> much of his career developing access technologies for people with visual
> impairments. "Even with my technical background and the help of poll
> workers, I could not get the Sequoia Edge II DRE to work. I have since
> tested most of the available voting systems at conferences and at the
> National Federation of the Blind's accessible voting systems lab, and my
> fears have been confirmed: Most of the DREs deployed were not designed
> with real disability access in mind.""...
>
>
> http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_jgideon_070214__daily_voting_news__.htm
>
> --
> BlindNews mailing list
>
>
>
>


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