hope we would also be able to cast our vote in such an accessible way. On 8/27/13, avinash shahi <[email protected]> wrote: > http://www.abc.net.au/rampup/articles/2013/08/26/3833791.htm > 26 Aug 2013 There is a new telephone voting system for Blind and Low > Vision voters which allows independent, confidential voting from home. > Credit: Winsome Denyer (ABC Local Radio) > > > Andrew Devenish-Meares road tests the new telephone voting system for > Blind and Low Vision voters for ABC Ramp Up. > > I turned 18 in 1994 and cast my first vote in the NSW State election > in 1995, followed up in 1996 by my first Federal and Local government > elections. Throughout 1996 and 1997 I lost a substantial amount of my > vision. The next time I voted, my ballot paper was a slip of paper > with fuzzy black markings. I recall memorising candidate orders so I > could mark the paper myself, and feeling unsure I'd done it correctly > after I'd slipped the paper into the ballot box. > > After that, I no longer had enough vision to see the boxes and > correlate them with the unreadable name text, and I had to ask for > help. I had lost the right to my secret ballot, something which vision > impaired people in Australia have not had, despite it being a core > part of voting in Australia since before Federation. > > At the 2007 Federal election, computer assisted voting was available > in limited locations, with some very confused messages about who was > eligible to use it. Unsurprisingly, it saw limited use. At the last > Federal election in 2010, Blind and Low Vision voters could vote via > phone by showing up to an Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) > office. > > We were living in Wollongong at the time, so my wife and I made our > way to the local AEC office, where the Returning Officer rang a call > centre for me to cast my vote. I cast my vote over the phone without > the call centre staff knowing who I was. Probably near enough to a > secret vote, right? > > There were a number of things that made me uncomfortable with this. > Firstly, I had to find my way to the AEC, which I would have found > difficult without my wife. I did find out that I could have called the > office and had someone come and meet me, but I only found that out > from the office staff when casting my vote. The extension of this > problem is that if you don't live near an AEC office or centre, voting > by phone isn't an option. > > The second problem for me was that it felt like an intrusion. The > people working at the Electoral Commission were more than welcoming > and happy to assist me voting, but this was a busy time for them, and > having the Returning Officer shut out from working in her office for > 10 minutes while I voted felt like an imposition. > > At the NSW State election in 2011, iVote, an online and telephone > based voting system, was available. While it was designed to ensure it > met the needs of the vision impaired, it was open to anyone as an > alternative to a postal vote. It was used widely and was, by all > accounts, very successful. Here, for the first time, I'd voted without > needing anyone else. I was also able to use iVote in the Northern > Tablelands by-election earlier this year; you can read about that > experience here. > > While the Federal Parliament hasn't provided as expansive a solution > as NSW, this year's Federal election will let Blind and Low Vision > electors vote via phone from any location. First, you must call to > register before noon on September 7. The staff will locate you on the > electoral roll, and you must state that you are blind or have low > vision and can't fill in a ballot yourself. You need to choose a six > digit PIN and the AEC will send you via mail, email and/or SMS, an > eight digit registration number. > > Once you have your registration number you can call back and vote. The > call centre staff won't know your name, and you're advised not to > provide any information that could identify you. You'll also need to > call between 8:30am and 5:30pm on Monday to Friday to register or > vote. Otherwise, you can call on election day from 8:30am until noon > to register and then you have until 6pm to vote. > > The process of voting for the House or Representatives and voting > below the line in the Senate took just over 30 minutes for me. It > helps if you can organise your preferences beforehand; the AEC site > lists candidates and the websites senate.io and belowtheline.org.au > can help you organise below the line preferences, with varying degrees > of accessibility. With each preference, the call centre staff repeated > the name, party and number entered for the candidate, which was clear > and easy to follow. > > Last time, I didn't vote below the line in the Senate, partially > because I felt like I was imposing on the AEC office, and partially > because I wasn't sure about communicating the preferences over the > phone. This year, I could vote in the privacy of my own home, I felt I > could take my time, and I was able to order 110 candidates and cast a > valid vote. This is a step forward for vision impaired voters in > Australia. If you are Blind or have Low Vision, I encourage you to > take advantage of this and vote to make sure your voice is heard in > this election. > > Details on how to vote if you are Blind or have Low Vision can be found > here. > > Information for voters who are Deaf or have a hearing or speech > impairment can be found here. > > Andrew Devenish-Meares has worked in information technology at a > number of not-for-profit organisations and is currently a solutions > analyst at the University of New England. He lives in Armidale, NSW > with his wife and son. > > > -- > Avinash Shahi > M.Phil Research Scholar > Centre for The Study of Law and Governance > Jawaharlal Nehru University > New Delhi India > > Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of > mobile phones / Tabs on: > http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > [email protected] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the > person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. >
-- S. P. Sharma Lecturer, Political Science Govt. College Kaladera Jaipur Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
