Easier than vote by mail? Yes, it’s true
Published 7:00 am Wednesday, October 24, 2007
You wouldn’t think voting could get much easier in the age of the all-mail ballot. Mark choices, seal envelope, lick stamp, drop in mailbox. Simple.
Then again, you may be vision-impaired, or a bit shaky of hand such that drawing the little black bar next to your candidate of choice doesn’t come so easy. Federal officials agree, so even in a vote-by-mail county like Kitsap, access to electronic voting machines for those with disabilities is still required under the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
So rolling out this week is Kitsap Elections Department’s new Votemobile, a voting machine-equipped van that will hit 19 locations around the county through Nov. 5. It will make two stops on Bainbridge Island this Friday.
“We will bring the ability to vote to the people who have trouble filling out a mail ballot or visiting the courthouse to vote,” Kitsap County Auditor Karen Flynn told the Review’s county desk. “This could serve as a model for how people vote in the future, both across the state and across the country. People with disabilities feel more comfortable voting close to their homes. So we’re bringing the ability to vote to wherever they are located. It gives disabled voters the same options as anyone else.”
The Votemobile project has been in the works since 2005, but the pieces only came together in time for the upcoming general election. A truck was commandeered from the county motor pool, and the final step – affixing a custom decal to the side – was scheduled for Monday. The name was an obvious one, as it conveyed the vehicle’s purpose as readily as “Bookmobile” does for a library van.
Flynn says the Votemobile will carry two electronic voting machines to each location, and the devices can be moved into a host facility or used by voters within the van itself. There’s an ADA lift, and the van is set up for entry and exit through different doors just like a old-school polling place. The voting machines offer touch-screen balloting with several features to assist the visually impaired. The display fonts can be enlarged to make the choices easier to read – think of it as the general ballot’s “large type edition” – while an audio track will guide those whose vision is challenged further still.
It marks the second general election in which the electronic machines have been in use in Kitsap County; a year ago, the devices were set up in the county courthouse in Port Orchard and a fire hall in Poulsbo. They were not a resounding success; only 241 people used them, and most were able-bodied voters or county employees who wanted to save a stamp. No doubt that number will be bettered by taking the machines to the people.
While the Votemobile will stop at just two island locations, we hope islanders who could benefit from the service will find their way to them this Friday. It’s an innovative program, the first in our state.
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Truckload of votes
The Kitsap Elections Votemobile comes to Bainbridge Island this Friday, Oct. 25. It will assist voters at Wyatt House on Madison Avenue from 9:30-11:30a.m., and at the Madison Avenue Retirement Center from 2-4 p.m.
You needn’t be a resident of those facilities to use the service; any voter who wants to use the electronic voting machines is welcome to do so.
