New terminals allow blind to vote independently

A good news story!

New terminals allow blind to vote independently
Rory MacLean

Saskatoon StarPhoenix, October 13, 2009

Visually impaired Saskatoon residents will have an opportunity to vote privately for the first time ever in a civic election thanks to two new electronic terminals.

The words 'secret ballot' have always been used loosely for the visually impaired.
Blind voters often require a witness to read them the options and to verify that they mark the ballot correctly, but the City of Saskatoon's new AutoMARK system should change all that.

"I have experimented with magnifiers, I have experimented with having the people there," said Monique Lalonde, a computer specialist at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, during a test of the AutoMARK terminal.

"Before this, for the civic election, what they'd do is have a tape recorder there with a set of headphones," said Lalonde, who is visually impaired, with some pinhole vision in her left eye.
"The tape would tell you 'No. 1 is this person, No. 2 is that person,' so you'd have to have a feel of the ballot, know where the numbers are versus where the holes are and pray you land the pencil or pen correctly."

The AutoMARK system uses the same paper ballots used by all voters, which are fed into a slot in the front. It has a touch screen with an assortment of display and contrast options, so those with some vision can choose the display that works best for them. It also has Braille buttons and an audio feature, so a voter's selection can be read back to them by the machine for verification, instead of by an election officer.

There will be an election officer nearby to provide assistance if the voter so desires, but users have the option of turning the screen off, providing an added bit of privacy.

The system cost $15,000, but city clerk Janice Mann says the most costly aspect was the software, so the second unit purchased was much cheaper.

"My goal is to get one of these in each ward," she said."