[nfb-talk] 2006 Election Marks a New Plateauof EqualityfortheBlind

Wed Nov 8 01:12:00 CST 2006

That's great Judy. What a good feeling. I have now voted twice 
independently. It truly is wonderful.

Sherri
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alan Wheeler" <awheeler at neb.rr.com>
To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2006 10:37 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] 2006 Election Marks a New Plateauof 
EqualityfortheBlind

Awesome, Judy.  Must have made you feel good. *SMILE*

Alan Wheeler
awheeler at neb.rr.com or alan_wheeler at neb.rr.com
redwheel1 on skype
http://alan-wheeler.blogspot.com/
"Tell the people the truth and the country will be free"
  --Abraham Lincoln

-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Judy Jones
Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2006 9:15 PM
To: NFB Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] 2006 Election Marks a New Plateau of
EqualityfortheBlind

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-----
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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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