Access For Sight Impaired ConsumersAccess For Sight Impaired ConsumersFollowing several months of planning, coordinating and strategizing, Elections BC introduced the very first Provincial general election with appropriate tools to enable voters who were blind or sight--impaired to independantly and privately mark their election ballot on May 12, 2009. While some consumers did report some flaws in the process, the overall reaction by voters with vision loss was very positive. We will let you judge by the comments that we received and have posted below.
Access for Sight-Impaired Consumers would like to thank Elections BC and, in particular, Jill Lawrance, Ami Foster and Nancy Southcott for their tremendous dedication and commitment to ensure this general election was an inclusive and accessible process. We would also like to thank Nobel Endeavors for providing a huge quantity of Brailled candidate lists and the referendum question, under extremely tight time parameters. This was truly a team effort and we applaud all those who contributed to making this a very accessible election process. We will continue to work with Elections BC to fine-tune some additional detail for the May 2013 election.
Some comments from our members:
"I voted this morning at the advance poll and found the process excellent. The gentleman who brought me the Braille was helpful all the way through the process. He said he had watched the training video. Thanks for all your work in this area. I did make one suggestion and that was to have a signature guide on hand. I did not take mine and had to sign two documents. It was no big deal but the guy said he thought there would be a guide also. The Braille was excellent and so too was the template. Well done my friend, you are to be commended."
MR - Langley, BC
"Well! Well! I've been blind for 29 years and have voted in every election (civic, provincial and federal) since then and of course before. This has been the first election in 29 years that I been able to vote completely independently. It was a very positive experience. The tools although extremely simple, were exactly what I required to cast my ballot by my self!! Great job. I will be writing a letter to the editor of the local paper tomorrow. This really affected me this afternoon as I voted. I thought at long last, "YES!"
The one observation is that the supervisor at the polling station, although being right on task and came up to me when we were showing our ID to get our ballots, made the unfortunate comment, "I really didn't think we would be using this." I did inform him that there were well over 200 persons in Kamloops who were blind or visually impaired. He did find the experience quite educational as he had no idea how the tools would actually work. After working with us, he is now much better informed. So, once again, Great Work!!"
TH - Kamloops, BC
"I am a totally blind voter who relies on braille and clear directions to complete successfully the voting process. Having a good template in which to hold the ballot also helps.
I found this provincial election to be the most accessible that I have ever voted in. I am in Vancouver Island North: Both the referendum question and the candidate and party list were in braille format, which I read prior to making my selections. The template was clearly explained to me and I was shown which boxes matched the various choices. It was also a final pleasure to drop the ballots in the polling box."
RB - Campbell RiverBC
"My Visionmate took me to the polling sation yesterday afternoon. I explained to him that I wanted to vote by myself and he understood and stood back and let me go at it.
I presented my HandyCard with my photo on it plus my BC Hydro bill and both were accepted as ID. I was rrequired to sign two documents (after asking what they were); one to confirm I would only vote once and the other to receive the voting slips. I asked for the template, which they produced, and then asked for the candidate list in braille. The election official said they did not have that, so I asked to speak to the Deputy Returning Officer. The DRO assured me that they did not have a Braille list of candidates and she was not aware that one should be available. She then pointed out that there was braille on the template. After turning it the right way up, I told them that the Braille beside the holes was just numbering the holes.
The election official said he would read the candidate list aloud and I could then make my choice. We walked to the polling booth where he read the list aloud and I went down the row of holes and marked one after asking him to hand me the pencil. I then marked the referendum ballot too. I asked him to put the ballots back in my hand and we took them to the ballot box. He was very diligent with the secrecy in folding the ballots without looking at them. About an 8 out of 10, I'd say!
SR - Vancouver, BC
"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to vote independently and in secret for the first time since I lost my sight. The Braille list of candidates and referendum question made this possible. The polling staff appeared to be well trained and prepared for my special circumstances. I have one suggestion for future elections, the polling staff should be instructed to fold the tab of the ballot back out of the way so the top of the ballot lined up with the top of the template. Once I did this, I was able to ensure that the ballot was placed in the right position. Thank you again for removing the barriers to my equal participation in our democratic system. I no longer have a disability when it comes to voting."
LB - Oliver, BC
"I am an 89 year old legally blind person with AMD. I used my hand magnifier to read the ballot and did not need assistance. Just took me a little longer to make sure I made the right choice without assistance from the voting clerk or my husband."
BW - Location Unknown
"My experience was quite positive getting the Braille copies of the candidates and STV-related materials at the polling station. One caveat, the Braille should be edited for clarity to avoid typos, such as "Andrew" was spelled "Andrej". The ladies who assisted me at first put the braille into the template until I pointed out it was the ballot that goes into it. Luckily, Dad was with me to assist signing the booklet prior to voting, since they weren't necessarily remembering that I was visually impaired. Upon arrival, I was surprised when the lady who looked over my yellow card asked if I wanted to go sighted guide to my table. Very nice! Overall, my experience was good, and when I requested the braille, they knew exactly what I was talking about and got it for me."
JM - Prince GeorgeBC
EDITOR'S NOTE: As the writer suggests, this was not a Braille error. The candidate for Prince George-Valemount was Andrej Joseph De Wolf, of the Green Party
"I voted yesterday at Henry Hudson School in Vancouver. I had no problems. We were greeted and shown to the polling station in the gymnasium. The only thing I noticed was that when it was time to sign the form when checking in, they asked my husband if he could sign for me. I just said, "No I can do it myself if you will show me where to sign." This was done and I got my ballots. I asked for a chair so I could sit down to mark the ballot and this was provided. The whole process took less than 10 minutes and the staff were all very friendly and helpful."
NS - Vancouver, BC
"My experience voting in this provincial election was mostly positive, with only a couple of small exceptions, although, in both instances, I think it has little to do with the volunteer training or the actual accessible voting features put in place by Elections BC.
At the door, I was greeted by the door attendant, and as I was making my way towards my designated polling booth, a lady, she didn't identify herself, approached me, and asked if I needed assistance. I asked her if I could have the voting template and the Braille copies of the candidates list and the referendum. She left me in front of my station, and returned a few minutes later with the template, but she said she couldn't find the Brailed copies of the two documents. She said she could read out the information to me. Having no other alternative, I agreed, and followed her to the voting area.
The lady read out the names of the candidates, but she only listed them by their last names and party. I considered asking her to read the entire names, but I knew who I was going to vote for, so I didn't bother. She asked if I'd like her to mark my ballot, but I told her I would prefer to mark it myself. She stood directly behind me as I marked my ballot. As I was trying to refold my completed ballot, she tried taking it out of my hand. When I didn't let go, she eventually released her hold.
I realize that all elections volunteers must take some sort of privacy oath, but I would still have preferred that no one was watching me mark my ballot. I told her that I didn't need her to read the entire referendum to me, but I just needed clarification on which number coincided with which choice. She told me that the top one was for the "old way" and the second one was for the "new Way." I had researched this issue, so I knew what my choice was going to be, but I thought her response was a little unprofessional. She stood directly behind me as I marked this ballot as well.
I returned to my station with both completed and properly folded ballots in hand, and after the clerk tore off the tabs, I drop them into the ballot box. Overall, I was pleased with my voting experience. I appreciate Elections BC taking the initiative to recognize the need to provide equal access."
LW - Surrey, BC
"My election experience at the advanced poll was a very positive, independant experience. Perhaps the presence of my guide dog was the best indication to the elections staff that I would need some assistance but as soon as I entered the polling station, the staff seemed to know exactly what to do; almost like a well-rehersed stage play. The Information Officer made herself known to me and ask what assistance I would require. Although I could sense some apprehension and excitement (probably because she wanted so badly to get everything right), I was escorted to the registration desk where my ID was inspected and I was presented with forms to sign. The staff offered to read the content of the form aloud prior to asking me to sign. I was given the option of reviewing a wall-mounted large print sample of the ballot or alternatevely using a plastic template. Given the large-print sample of the ballot would have been of no value to me, I elected to use the plastic template and the Braille list of candidates. I was escorted to a polling booth with near text-book sighted guide technique. The Information Officer hovered over me as I marked my ballots and, although I would have prefered her to stand back, I was sure her only intent was to see how a totally blind voter was going to manage the task of marking the ballot. I allowed her to watch as I felt it would be a good experience for her to see that a blind person could execute this very simple task, given the right tools and supports.
I was guided back to the Registration Desk where I was given the option of placing my folded ballots (a task that I performed with some verbal instruction from the Information Officer) into the ballot box. I was so elated with the experience of marking my ballots independently that I passed on this option and allowed the Information Officer to insert them on my behalf. My thanks to Elections BC and their entire team for advancing independence for people who ar blind or visually impaired. And my thanks to the team who created the very excellent Braille copies!"
RS - Richmond, BC
"I was not offered the braille. I had to ask for it. Then the Returning Officer was going to ask my husband to sign something as if he would be voting for me. I indicated that I would be voting independently as that was the purpose of the Braille candidates list and referendum question. The only thing my husband did for me was to put the ballot correctly in the template. I had to sign the voter declaration or whatever it was called, and the clerk said: "Can she sign this?" I explained that I was not able to see but I could hear her and she should be asking me. Otherwise, voting worked very well and it was a pleasure to be able to vote myself."
BN - Vancouver, BC
"I thought that it was vary accessible for both my partner, who is also blind, and me."
RP - Burnaby, BC
"I am blad to report that my voting experience on May 12 was a very positive one. I voted at St. Augustine’s School in the Vancouver Point Grey riding and was apparently the first blind voter in that day. Staff were very helpful, providing me with the Braille copy of the election ballot which I was able to read and transfer my vote to the template and then was provided with the STV referendum ballot, again using the template.
The polling clerk who assisted me was very careful to step aside while I was actually voting and, for the first time in several elections, I had the pleasure of placing my folded ballots in the waiting ballot box.
The one flaw I noticed was the use of the same ballot box for both the election and referendum which would make for a less efficient/more time consuming ballot count. However, I was pleasantly impressed by the fact that the Deputy Returning Officer blocked representatives of political parties from entering the polling station. This important step was something that did not happen in the recent federal election."
JT - Vancouver, BC
"I voted late on May 12th and am happy to report that there was a great improvement over the last provincial election. The voting place was King George Secondary school again and the staff was aware of the existence of the large print and Braille ballots and they were readily accessible unlike the last time I reported negatively.
Assistance was offered and the experience was a good one.
MC - Vancouver, BC
"I was thrilled and delighted to receive a Braille ballot when I voted in the recent Provincial election. It was wonderful to be able to truly vote independently without any sighted assistance.
MR - Burnaby, BC
First I want to commend ASIC and the others who work so hard to ensure the last provincial election would be more accessible not only to people who are blind or visually impaired, but for people with disabilities in general. As with many things, when your expectations are lifted to expect a more positive experience, in this case voting, imagine the disappointment when things do not go according to plan. This is exactly what happened in my situation. Below I will summarize some of the issues that came up at my poling station. the riding I am in is Coquitlam Port Moody. the poling station I was at was at Coquitlam College.
RM - Coquitlam, BC