[nfb-talk] 2006 Election Marks a New Plateau of Equalityforthe Blind

Tue Nov 7 21:15:23 CST 2006

Hi to all,

I just experienced the touch screen system today for the first time and

loved it. When I pressed the little "red circle" button to make my

selections, the voice said with lots of feeling, "You've selected!!" Made

me sound like I'd won a prize.

I was the first one to use the audio in my precinct, and when I arrived they

didn't have the audio hooked up yet and didn't know who to call. I happen

to have the auditor's office on my Braille Lite, so promptly gave it to

them, they called the number, and got everything going.

Best to all.

Judy

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Catherine Close" <cgclose at earthlink.net>
To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2006 2:13 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] 2006 Election Marks a New Plateau of Equalityforthe 
Blind

I am happy to report that I had a great voting experience here in western
Pennsylvania.  I also discovered that the Ivotronics machine must have been
improved because I had more ability to bypass things than was indicated on
the NFB video.  I am past 50 and I was as excited as a kid!!

 It took about fifteen minutes to vote, and it would take much less next
time because I did listen to the instructions once this time just to have
the experience.

I called the NFB hotline to report my positive experience.  At first the
poll workers did say it was faster to just have someone help, but I said no,
I wanted to do it myself, and they were fine with that.  When I was finished
they were as excited as I was.

Cathy

-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of David Andrews
Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2006 1:38 PM
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Subject: [nfb-talk] 2006 Election Marks a New Plateau of Equality forthe
Blind

>
>Reminder - call the NFB at 877-632-1940 on election day if you
>encounter any problems while voting.  Also, included below is an NFB
>press release that was distributed on Friday.
>
>
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
>
>
>
>CONTACT:
>
>John G. Paré Jr.
>
>Director of Public Relations
>
>National Federation of the Blind
>
>(410) 659-9314, extension 2371
>
>(410) 913-3912 (Cell)
>
>jpare at nfb.org <mailto:jpare at nfb.org>
>
>
>2006 Election Marks a New Plateau of Equality for the Blind
>
>
>
>
>Baltimore, Maryland (November 3, 2006): In all
>that has been said about the coming election,
>one largely overlooked fact is that the voting
>experience of the blind will be private for the first time in history.
>
>
>
>James Gashel, Executive Director for Strategic
>initiatives at the National Federation of the
>Blind, commented, "I have been voting in every
>single election since 1968, and never once have
>I been able to cast a secret ballot in a general
>or presidential election.  For me, voting was
>never a welcoming experience, but rather
>tension-filled and stressful, as I struggled
>with the numerous restrictions of being a blind
>voter; from the difficulty of finding a person
>to accompany me to the polling area to wondering
>how I would be treated upon arrival."
>
>
>
>Voting, like so many other interactions with the
>printed word in the life of the blind, required
>some assistance from a sighted person, or in
>some cases, several sighted people.  Prior to a
>1982 federal requirement that allowed the blind
>to take a trusted individual of their choosing
>into the voting booth, blind people who showed
>up at the polls unaccompanied by a family member
>or trusted friend had to be watched by at least
>three other people.  A supposedly neutral poll
>worker was needed to mark the blind voter's
>ballot, and one observer from each political
>party went behind the curtain as well to make
>sure the poll worker didn't cheat.  Eileen
>Rivera-Ley, of Baltimore, once commented about
>her time in the voting booth: "It's like a party
>in there."  Obviously, the result of this ritual
>was that the blind voter's ballot was never
>secret, and sometimes revealed to more than one
>person, none of whom the voter knew particularly
>well or had any reason to trust.  And according
>to some blind voters, poll workers and partisan
>election monitors sometimes took the opportunity
>to make a last-minute effort to influence the
>blind voter's decision.  "You're voting for who? Are you sure?"
>
>
>
>The Help America Vote Act, enacted in 2002,
>mandates that each polling place in America have
>at least one voting device that a blind person
>can use without assistance.  Most voting
>machines implement this requirement with an
>audio ballot, which reads each contest to the
>voter, who then makes choices by pushing buttons
>on a keypad instead of touching a screen or
>marking a paper ballot with a pencil.
>
>
>
>The opportunity of every American to a secret
>ballot is not only a matter of individual
>privacy; it is one of the many ways to insulate
>voters from undue influence and to protect the
>entire election process from fraud.  Gashel
>added, "on Tuesday, November 7, for the first
>time ever, I will proudly go to my polling place
>to cast my vote unaccompanied and unassisted,
>with the knowledge that a new plateau in
>equality for the blind has been reached."
>
>
>
>Reminder - call the NFB at 877-632-1940 on
>election day if you encounter any problems while voting.
>
>

David Andrews and white cane Harry.

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