Keep Voting Accessible
The 2008 presidential election was the first time in New York State that some individuals with disabilities could cast a private vote independently. Unfortunately, not too many people took advantage of the newly-rolled out Ballot Marking Device.
We first brought you this story last fall, when ARISE had one of the Ballot Marking Devices (BMD) here at our Syracuse office and we offered “testing & training” sessions to teach people how to use it. The device has three types of adaptive attachments as well as audio capabilities, making it accessible for people with visual impairments, or reach and hand dexterity limitations. The technology makes it possible for some individuals to vote independently for the first time in their lives.
Because few people took advantage of the technology in last year’s election, ARISE joined AURORA, Disabled in Action of Greater Syracuse, Enable, and the Board of Elections to make sure that voters with disabilities – and election inspectors – are familiar with the BMD.
The Voting Accessibility Coalition prepared and presented a 15-minute presentation on “Disability Etiquette” as part of annual election inspector trainings. Each session also included a component that trained election inspectors on use of the BMD. Participants had very positive feedback about the training, and it’s very possible that increasing awareness and providing training will overcome some of the reluctance on the part of both voters and election inspectors to try their hand at using the new technology.
Beata Karpinska-Prehn, Advocacy Director at ARISE encourages anyone who has trouble with a pull lever voting machine to try the BMD if they’d like to vote in person and privately. The new voting device is available for testing at ARISE’s Syracuse office located at 635 James Street. Call Beata Karpinska-Prehn at (315) 671-2929, or Lisa Spina at (315) 671-2925, to schedule an appointment to test the equipment.