WORLD BLIND UNION POSITION PAPER

BLIND PEOPLE AND VOTING METHODS
BY WILLIAM ROWLAND
(UPDATED NOVEMBER 2002)

The secret ballot is a basic political right in a free society. It is a precondition of democracy and denial compromises personal freedom and, in some parts of the world, places the individual at risk from intimidation and physical violence. In industrial democracies blind people mostly take the secret ballot for granted, whereas in developing countries it is often an emotive and problematic issue.

VOTING METHODS:

A variety of voting methods are used by governments to accommodate blind people at the polls. The method chosen depends on many factors, including the integrity of the process, the commitment of electoral authorities, consultation with blind people, available technology, and cost. The choice is more difficult where the ballot paper contains a long list of candidates or parties, or where second choices have to be indicated, and the possibility of error is increased in such circumstances. Even when an effective method is in use, blind people frequently experience problems with officials who are untrained, uninformed, or behave inappropriately. Whatever method is used, it can be made more effective by voter education. The needs of partially sighted voters also have to be taken into account when designing the ballot paper. Print size, typeface, colour contrast, clarity of symbols and logos as well as available illumination are critical factors.

The list of methods given below is not exhaustive and each method is open to variation and combination. I would welcome receiving information on further methods to make the list more complete.

• Voting in front of party representatives - unacceptable because it violates privacy;

• Voting in front of an electoral official - unacceptable because it violates privacy;

• Voting in front of independent observers - unacceptable because it violates privacy;

• Voting by raising the hand in public - unacceptable because it violates privacy;

• Braille ballot - advocated by some, but open to abuse, as only a few blind people may vote at any one polling station, enabling electoral officials to determine the voter's choice;

• Template - increasingly advocated, but questions of alignment and the matching of slots with choices arise;

• Template with braille markings - would enable some blind people to vote completely independently, but inaccessible to many;

• Use of a person of one's own choice - widely used, but deprives blind people of their independence and mistrusted by electoral authorities;

• Postal ballot - popular with blind people in jurisdictions where the postal system is regarded as reliable and secure;

• Voting by hand lever - acceptable if accompanied by appropriate instruction, but technology fast becoming obsolete;

• Computerized voting - this method has been tested recently in Australia. The voter is issued with a bar code instead of a paper ballot. Via earphones in the voting booth, the purpose of the keys on the keypad is explained. The voter swipes the bar code and a ballot paper appears on the screen. The vote is then cast using marked keys with speech feedback;

• Voting by direct recording electronic devices (DREs) - these are computerised machines that use touch-sensitive screens. Although DRE touch-sensitive screens are of little use by themselves to the visually impaired, several voting technology companies now produce plug-in components for the machines that •talk• through voice recordings and have keys with raised arrows and icons that blind voters can read with their fingertips. Under a Senate Bill in the United States all states using federal funding will be required to update their technology and this will be inclusive of DREs; and

• Internet voting - this method has been considered, for example in Alaska, but rejected for security reasons.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Organizations of blind people need information to be able to advocate for appropriate voting methods and voter education. The WBU should be able to provide such a resource. It is therefore recommended:

• That this paper, expanded as necessary, be maintained as a resource for blind people and their organizations;

• That a survey be done of available voting methods and their efficacy. This could be undertaken by a blindness agency, an academic institution, or an institution specializing in democratic studies;

• That agencies undertaking observer missions, such as the United Nations and the European Union, be engaged for advocacy purposes and as a channel of two-way communication; and

• That the UN Working Group of the WBU be tasked to take this initiative forward.