Oregon and Apple Test Vote-by-iPad with Disabled Voters

[MacRumors]

The Associated Press reports that Apple has donated five iPads to the state of Oregon in support of a pilot program to help disabled voters more easily fill out their election ballots. Combined with a $75,000 investment by the state for software development, the iPads allow voters to adjust font size and screen colors to help them read the ballots, among other accessibility improvements made possible by a shift to digital technology.

Voters with poor vision can adjust the font size and screen colors, or they can have the iPad read them the candidates' names and even the voter pamphlet. A voter with limited mobility could attach a "sip-and-puff" device to control the screen. Lewis Crews, 75, who has severe arthritis, didn't have to hold a pen to fill out his ballot.

"It's a lot simpler for me. I think it's a great setup they got," Crews told The Associated Press last week in a phone interview after he filled out and printed one of the first-ever iPad ballots.

Elections officials helped Crews operate the iPad, he said, "but now that I've seen how it works I'm confident I can do it on my own."

Rather than filing votes electronically, the iPads are connected to portable printers, which print out the completed ballots for signing and mailing. Since the passage of a 1998 measure, all Oregon elections have utilized vote-by-mail as the primary mechanism for submitting ballots, allowing the iPad-generated ballots to be easily integrated into the existing system.

Oregon election officials believe that a full-scale program would require a total of 72 iPads to offer two devices per county. At a total cost of $36,000 for the 72 devices, the program would compare favorably to the state's current $325,000 yearly budget for maintaining voting tools accessible to the disabled.

Article Link: Oregon and Apple Test Vote-by-iPad with Disabled Voters

 

[johncrab]

When I lived in the Beaver State, I was always pleased by the way government and the population tried to make life easier for people with special needs. It often does not take massive investment, just brains and common decency. Oregon is an all mail-in ballot state but for a small number of people who can't mark ballots easily, this seems to offer some real promise and it's cool to see Apple in there trying to help.

 

[LanPhantom]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_7_2) AppleWebKit/534.51.22 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1.1 Safari/534.51.22)

This could potentially be HUGE for the iPad. Every 4 years apple sells 200,000 million iPads for Voting use! I say SWEET!

 

[peterjames.org]

Having just filled out my paper Oregon ballot yesterday, I can see how the iPad could help with accessibility for marking a ballot form and then printing it out for mailing/dropbox and having that all important paper trail. This could also go beyond the iPad to feasibly a Mac or an Apple TV (console or current set top box), as Apple can put its accessibility features on all of those devices. Imagine a Thunderbolt display or 47" flat panel displaying the ballot with very large, sharp text and thus not having to scroll around even on an iPad screen.

Due diligence has to be put on the election official to prove to the disabled voter that the paper ballot printout MATCHES EXACTLY with their intent with the device. We would hate to have the voting machine naysayers call foul if it doesn't work. Still with voting, a paper receipt with a unique ID has to be the ultimate deliverable.

 

[Drunken Master]

It's smart too; an iPad may seem pricey but voting machines are way more expensive and clunky.

 

[Shrink]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_7_2) AppleWebKit/534.51.22 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1.1 Safari/534.51.22)

This could potentially be HUGE for the iPad. Every 4 years apple sells 200,000 million iPads for Voting use! I say SWEET!

Is EVERYTHING about money??!

Due diligence has to be put on the election official to prove to the disabled voter that the paper ballot printout MATCHES EXACTLY with their intent with the device. We would hate to have the voting machine naysayers call foul if it doesn't work. Still with voting, a paper receipt with a unique ID has to be the ultimate deliverable.

Interesting point, well stated.

(Why does it make me think of Florida in 2000?)

 

[peterjames.org]

Interesting point, well stated.

(Why does it make me think of Florida in 2000?)

Yes, FL in 2000 - but at least those were paper (albeit poorly designed paper). I am thinking more about Ohio in 2004 where thousands of miscounted voting machine votes went missing, were overstated or understated...and the rest is painful history.

Imagine if Siri was also incorporated into this implementation. Apple could accommodate the sight-, hearing-, speech- and motor skill-impaired voter with further development.

 

[eastercat]

I just moved here and I'm so glad OR is avoiding the diebold voting machines (from Texas, of course) that were total crap.
Also, anything that helps the disabled make it easier to vote is a +1 for me.

 

[nylonsteel]

re original article

hanging or dangling chad - be gone

 

[Jputnam]

Printer & Software Specs Please

What wireless portable printer and software are they using in Oregon?