Disabled voters find more options

By Linda Ober / The Citizen

AUBURN - James Kibbe has not been able to cast a ballot without assistance for 22 years.

In 1984, the Throop resident was injured by a drunk driver; he lives as a quadrapalegic. And so when Kibbe goes to vote on the current lever machines, his caretaker must do it for him.

Now, with the forthcoming implementation of new technology, Kibbe is hopeful the direct recording electronic machines will help him regain his independence in the voting booth.

“It would open up doors, too, for a lot of individuals that have been disabled even longer than I have,” Kibbe said Friday after viewing demonstrations of the proposed machines.

The Cayuga County Board of Elections sponsored the demonstrations of the optical scan and DRE, the two types of machines that commissioners must choose

from when they purchase new ones. The federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 requires that states update their voting machines and procedures.

About 60 elected officials from around the county attended demonstrations Thursday, and Friday was the general public's turn to learn more about the choices. Disabled individuals associated with Options for Independence were invited to the first demonstrations of the day.

Larry Tonelli, a state manager with Sequoia Voting Systems, first presented the optical scan, a device about the size of a copy machine that uses paper ballots in an SAT-format. The optical scan would not work well for people with disabilities, he said, as voters have to mark up the paper and then feed it into a slot.

Additionally, if you over-vote or under-vote, the machine spits the ballot back out, and that can compromise confidentiality and create long lines, Tonelli said.

“That's a little slowing down of the process,” he continued, noting that people who have to fill out another ballot may become discouraged.

For Tonelli, the DRE offers modifications for those with disabilities and also affords more privacy. Citizens vote for a candidate or proposition by touching the screen, and voters receive a piece of paper, much like a grocery-store receipt, to double check their choices before their ballot is recorded.

Sequoia is still working on some additional modifications, including a zoom function. Kibbe, who can pull his chair up to the DRE, said that he was pleased with the device, particularly if a joystick capability is added.

Betty Palega also supports the DRE, which comes with an attachable device that includes Braille, large colored buttons and audio prompts.

“The buttons are a fairly good size, but I have to get used to what it says ... before I really feel confident that I'm voting correctly,” said Palega, who is legally blind. She is hopeful the machines will be ready for a primary so that she can have a test-run of sorts.

Cayuga County's election commissioners say that is wishful thinking, at least for this year. They are doubtful the new machines will be purchased and ready to go by November, as the state and federal government hasn't certified the machines yet, said Democratic Commissioner Dennis Sedor.

Sedor said that counties in New York state, which are responsible for choosing, storing and maintaining the new machines, had expected to get clearance to purchase the machines by now. He doesn't know what's holding things up, but he's frustrated.

“We're ready to pick one,” Sedor said, “and we're ready to implement.”

New York has been criticized for falling behind - way behind - other states in its HAVA compliance. Earlier this month, the federal Justice Department sued the state for failing to meet the new voting guidelines, and a federal judge on Thursday ordered New York to come up with a plan by April 10 to comply with HAVA provisions requiring new voting machines the disabled can use this fall.

There is a very real threat of not receiving the federal HAVA money if things don't start moving, Sedor said. Cayuga County is set to receive about $850,000 for the purchase of 100 machines and another $40,000 for training.

Until the new machines are put in place, state and federal officials have talked of implementing interim measures, whereby people with disabilities would have to vote with a phone or ballot marker system.

Sedor called that idea “a Band-Aid approach to a cut that needs stitches,” noting that disabled individuals would have to use a completely different system.

“If that's not discrimination,” said Tom Schilling, the ADA/access advocate for Options for Independence, “I don't know what is.”

Sedor and Republican Commissioner Cherl Heary are convinced the DRE machine is more HAVA-compliant and accessible for people with disabilities. Both have attended conferences and have been in talks with other counties for months; they set up the demonstrations to make sure the public backs the DRE as well.

Surveys filled out after Thursday's demonstrations showed that 90 percent or more favored the DRE over the optical scan, Heary said.

The optical scans cost $6,500 but require an additional $6,000 device to assist people with disabilities. DREs run $8,000 to $8,500 each.

Though Sedor is frustrated with the state's lack of progress, there are some benefits to having other states be the guinea pigs and to watching as they work the kinks out.

“If there is any good that comes out of being last,” Sedor said, “I believe that our final machines will be state of the art. We may well have the best voting machines in the country.”

Staff writer Linda Ober can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or linda.ober@lee.net

[photo]

Jason Rearick / The Citizen

Larry Tonelli, state manager for Sequoia Voting Systems, demonstrates the different voting machines and how they relate to helping people with disabilities during a showcase in Auburn Friday.

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