Recent legislation has assured that voters who are blind or have low vision can exercise their right to vote independently and confidentially.

Help America Vote Act of 2002

Under this act ("HAVA") passed in 2002 by Congress, all "voting systems" used in an election for federal office must meet specified federal requirements by January 1, 2006. One of these requirements is that voting systems "shall . . . permit the voter to verify (in a private and independent manner) the votes selected by the voter on the ballot before the ballot is cast and counted."

HAVA further provides that the "voting system shall . . . be accessible for individuals with disabilities, including nonvisual accessibility for the blind and visually impaired, in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation (including privacy and independence) as for other voters."

How your voting district has responded to the Help America Vote Act will vary as to the type of voting system and equipment it provides. You should contact your local Board of Elections to ask about what to expect at your polling station.

Here are some examples of voting machines adapted for the visually impaired.

DRE machines

Many states are expanding the use in elections of direct recording electronic (DRE) voting systems, which allow voters to enter their choices on an electronic screen in the voting booth. The DRE machines also allow a voter to confirm his or her ballot before it becomes an officially recorded vote by providing a "summary screen" listing all of the voter's choices. After viewing the summary screen, the voter may either cast his ballot or else go back and make corrections. On newer DRE machines, an auditory component announces the ballot choices and the contents of the electronic summary screen, allowing sight-impaired voters to verify and cast their ballots without assistance and in complete privacy.

Touch Screen Voting Systems

Touch Screen machines are a type of DRE equipment. New touch screen voting machines feature a standard telephone keypad with a raised indicator on the No. 5 key, accompanied by a headset and detailed audio instructions, to make voting private. Your polling place will also have a poll worker assigned to each machine to help if needed.

But the voice-guidance feature enables blind or visually impaired people to vote unassisted in complete privacy by sequencing through the entire ballot using verbal prompts. Some models of touch screen voting machines even allow voters to control the speed of the audio ballot. The unit's ballot magnification feature, which can be activated by the voter, enables people with limited sight to easily read the touch screen ballot and make selections.

Problems Remain in Providing Accessible Voting for People with Disabilities

Many people have insisted that all DRE machines provide a paper ballot print-out so the voters can verify that the voting machine accurately recorded their votes. However, there is no certified, voter-verified paper ballot technology that is accessible to voters with visual impairments. The American Association for People with Disabilities provides up-to-date information about a wide range of issues affecting voters with disabilities, including our nation's disabled veterans.

Furthermore, DRE machines often do not work as promised, according to "Improving Access to Voting: A Report on the Technology for Accessible Voting Systems", a report by access technology specialist Noel Runyan. Due to inadequate or malfunctioning voting machines, voters with disabilities are frequently forced to ask for assistance or compromise the privacy of their vote, both of which are violations of federal disability accommodation requirements. Runyan, who is blind, is a professional electrical engineer who has spent much of his career developing access technologies for people with visual impairments. For more information, and to read more about proposed solutions, visit the Voter Action web site.

Federal Election Commission: Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252

Read more about the Help America Vote Act of 2002 at the Federal Election Commission's web site.