EAC - Voluntary Voting System Guidelines

Name : | Diane Golden
Organization : | Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs
Post Date : | 9/9/2005
Section Comments
Section : | 2.2.7.2
Page no. : |
Line no.: |
Comment : | 1) Equal access to paper ballots is not ensured for voters with all types of vision disabilities (both blindness and low vision) when paper ballots are used as an official vote record. 2) Equal access is not ensured for voters with motor disabilities when the voting process includes submitting a paper ballot that is an official vote record. 3) Privacy is not ensured for voters who use large print output on paper ballots used as an official vote record. We provide further elucidation on these issues and specific recommendation in the comments that follow. It is our belief that without addressing these issues, the current version of the VVSG actually provides a lesser level of accessibility than does the FEC 2002 standards. The FEC 2002 access standards apply only to direct recording electronic (DRE) voting systems, which by definition have an electronic vote as the official voter record. The electronic vote record (and no associated paper vote record) of a DRE system under the FEC 2002 standards provides a set level of accessibility to voters with a wide range of disabilities. Once a paper ballot (which is or can be the official vote of record) is added into the voting process, the FEC 2002 level of accessibility is compromised unless additional standards are added. Those additional standards must make the paper ballot accessible or the level of access is lowered.