EAC - Voluntary Voting System Guidelines

Name : | Day Al-Mohamed
Organization : | The American Council of the Blind
Post Date : | 9/30/2005
Section Comments
Section : | 2.2.7.4.2.1
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Comment : | This requirement is a double standard, as it is made mandatory for a non-paper based system but not for a paper based system. Automated paper ballot marking systems that may be used for people with disabilities would then be vulnerable and the casting of a secret and private vote is lost. It is understood that specific technical requirements may be necessary based on the nature of a voting system, say for marking a ballot, but general requirements, such as privacy, which are mandated by HAVA, should be applicable to all voting systems regardless of their nature. ACB recommends that either the requirement be replaced with the following language: “No information shall be collected or compiled for the purposes of establishing the voting selection trends of voters using accessibility features.” ACB supports the language provided by the National Disability Rights Network that adds: “Jurisdictions that fulfill their obligations for accessibility through the use of voting systems or alternative ballots that are different from the voting method primarily used at a polling place shall have administration procedures that ensure that these individuals’ votes are indistinguishable from other votes.”