EAC - Voluntary Voting System Guidelines

Name : | Janna Starr
Organization : | Disability Policy Collaboration
Post Date : | 9/28/2005
Section Comments
Section : | 2.2.7.7
Page no. : |
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Comment : | TO: NIST, Technical Guidelines Development Committee April 19, 2005 Election Assistance Commission First, thanks to everyone for all of your hard work in developing the voting system guidelines and for your careful attention to accessibility to people with a range of disabilities. I would like briefly to address the needs of the population with cognitive, or intellectual, disabilities. This population includes people with mental retardation, traumatic or acquired brain injury, learning disabilities (e.g. dyslexia), some psychiatric diagnoses, as well as conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Although the guidelines clearly state that “there are no design features specifically aimed at helping those with cognitive disabilities,” there are, indeed, a number of features that will benefit those with cognitive disabilities, possibly more than they will benefit any other population. I am not just referring to synchronized video and audio, but to a range of features that have largely been included under the topic of “Usability.” A few random examples of features and procedures, already included in the guidelines, that benefit people with cognitive disabilities are: