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Resources on Voting Accessibility
FEC 2002 Voting System Standards (VSS) -- The Federal Election Commission (FEC) adopted voting equipment standards in May 2002 that include accessibility standards for direct recording electronic voting systems.
Volume 1, Section 2, Functional Capabilities, 2.2.7 Accessibility.
The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is currently considering public comments on their draft of Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG).
Volume 1, Section 2, Functional Capabilities, 2.2.7.1 Accessibility.
In January of 2005, the California Secretary of State released standards, including accessibility requirements, for that state’s required voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT). These new standards require the VVPAT to comply with federal and state accessibility requirements. Interestingly, there are no technical standards for accessibility at the federal or state level at this time.
In addition to conforming to technical standards, subjective evaluations by consumers are helpful. Such reviews provide consumer usability information (like consumer reports) to compliment a review of conformance to technical standards.
The American Foundation for the Blind has such a usability review available on-line.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) plays a key role in development and updating of voting system access standards under HAVA through the Technical Guidelines Development Committee. NIST also is responsible for the national network of laboratories that will certify equipment conformance to new voting system standards.
The Department of Justice has consistently held that the HAVA requirement for one accessible voting machine per polling place also means that polling places must be architecturally accessible.
Information Technology and Disabilities, Volume X, No. 2, 2004, has some helpful articles on accessible voting. There is an article that provides good background discussion on access barriers in polling places along with references related to the issue:
There is also an article on “ Accessible Voting Equipment Challenges ” with helpful background discussion on the issue of accessibility of voter verified paper audit trails (VVPAT):