Information for Blind
& Visually Impaired Voters
Massachusetts Voters’ Bill of Rights
- You have the right to vote if you are a qualified, registered voter.
- You have the right to cast your ballot in a manner that ensures privacy. You have the right to vote without any person trying to influence your vote and to vote in a booth that prevents others from watching you mark your ballot.
- You have the right to remain in the voting booth for 5 minutes if there are other voters waiting and for 10 minutes if there are no others waiting.
- You have the right to receive up to 2 ballots if you make a mistake and spoil your ballot.
- You have the right to request assistance, when voting, from a poll worker or anyone of your choice, except your employer or an officer of your union or their representatives.
- You have the right to vote if you are disabled. The polling places must be accessible, and there must be an accessible voting booth.
- You have the right to vote if you cannot read or write or cannot read or write English.
- You have the right to vote but must show I.D. if: you are a first time voter who registered to vote by mail and did not submit I.D. with the voter registration form; or your name is on the inactive voter list; or your vote is being challenged; or if requested by the poll worker. Acceptable forms of I.D. are: Mass. Driver’s License, other printed documentation containing your name and address such as a recent utility bill, rent receipt on landlord’s letterhead, lease, or a copy of a voter registration acknowledgement or receipt.
- You have the right to vote by absentee ballot if: you will be absent from your city or town on Election Day; or if you have a physical disability that prevents your voting at the polling place; or if you cannot vote at the polls due to religious beliefs.
- You have the right to cast a provisional ballot if you believe you are a qualified, registered voter but a poll worker tells you that you are ineligible to vote.
- You have the right to follow up on any challenge to your right to vote through the complaint process.
- You have the right to vote if you are not currently incarcerated for a felony conviction and have registered as a voter after your release.
- You have the right to take this Voters’ Bill of Rights or any other papers, including a sample ballot, voter guide, or campaign material into the voting booth with you. Remove all papers when you leave the booth.
- You have the right to vote at your polling place any time between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. for state and federal elections; hours may vary for local elections. If you are in line at your polling place when the polls close at 8 p.m., you have the right to vote.
- You have the right to bring your children into the voting booth with you.
Signed,
Mitt Romney, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
William F. Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Madhu Sridhar, League of Women Voters of Massachusetts
If you feel your right to vote has been violated, call the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division at:
1-800-462-8683
Help America Vote Act
Accessibility:
The Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized to make payments to state and local governments for making polling places, including the path of travel, entrances, exits, and voting areas of each polling facility, accessible to individuals with disabilities, including the blind and visually impaired, in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation (including privacy and independence) as for other voters; and providing individuals with disabilities and others with information about the accessibility of polling places; including outreach programs to inform the individuals about the availability of accessible polling places and training election officials, poll workers, and election volunteers on how best to promote the access and participation of individuals with disabilities in elections for Federal office.
Voting Systems
HAVA requires each polling location to have at least one voting system accessible to individuals with disabilities, including
nonvisual accessibility for the blind and visually impaired, in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation (including privacy and independence) as for other voters.
The AutoMARK Voter Assist Terminal
The ES&S AutoMARK is a breakthrough ballot marking technology that allows voters with disabilities and other special needs to mark a ballot privately and independently when using an optical scan voting system. It does not tally or store votes; rather, it is a ballot marking system designed to provide privacy and accessibility to voters who are blind, vision impaired, or have a disability or condition that would make it difficult or impossible to mark a ballot in the usual way. Even a temporary condition, such as a broken arm, could make it difficult for a person to mark a ballot. In addition, the technology provides language assistance to voters who are more comfortable speaking a different language or who need help to better understand written instructions.
The ES&S AutoMARK guarantees that an optical scan balloting device will capture voter intent. No more overvotes. No more mismarked ballots. An audio function allows blind or visually impaired voters to listen to the choices through headphones. The audio is a synthesized voice enabling the voter to control the speed at which the ballot is read. Voters can also repeat the choices. The audio function also allows a voter to review a marked ballot after their choices are made.
A sip/puff tube is used by voters who are not able to use the touch screen or touch pad. A zoom feature enables the voter to increase the font size of each race listed on the optical scan ballot. This may be especially helpful for voters who have limited vision.
The ES&S AutoMARK offers multiple language capability to ensure that all citizens in a diverse population exercise their privilege to vote. Visual and audible ballots in multiple languages can be stored on a single machine. The system supports write in candidates.
Simply adding an ES&S AutoMARK device to a polling place ensures compliance with the federal HAVA and eliminates the need to reinvest in a new ballot style or tabulation system. HAVA requires that all polling locations be equipped with a least one disability accessible voting machine.
Federal Laws Protecting the Voting Rights of the Disabled
Voting Act of 1965: Allows those with various disabilities to receive assistance “by a person of the voter’s choice,” as long as that person was not the disabled voter’s boss or union agent.
Voting Accessibility for Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984: Mandated “handicapped and elderly access to polling places, and provided for the creation of permanent disabled access voter registration sites.
Americans w/ Disabilities Act of 1990: Prohibits discrimination against “individuals with disabilities” and required that accommodations be made for disabled citizens at places of employment, public service, as well as private operators. The ADA was enacted to ensure that the historical exclusion of disabled Americans in numerous areas, including voting, would be scaled back significantly.
National Voter Registration Act of 1993: Requires states with disabled service agencies to act as disabled voter registration agencies, as well.
Help America Vote Act of 2002: Under this law, voting “systems” must be accessible for all those with disabilities, including special assistance for blind and visually impaired voters.
A portion of this information was provided by the Disability Law Center, a private, non profit public interest law firm providing free legal assistance to people with disabilities throughout Massachusetts.
1-800-872-9992
mail@dlc-ma.org
Voting Absentee
If you cannot get to the polls on Election Day because you have a physical disability that prevents you from getting to your polling place or you will be absent from you city or town on Election Day, you can vote absentee. This means that you can have your ballot mailed to you before the election and you send it back to the town hall to be counted on Election Day.
To apply for an absentee ballot, you should contact your city or town hall, attn: town clerk, in writing, and include:
- Your name
- Address as registered
- Address where the ballot should be sent
- In a primary, the part ballot you want
- Your signature
If you wish to vote by absentee ballot for more than one election in a year, you may make one application and request that ballots for all elections during the calendar year be sent to you. Make sure you get your ballot back to town hall early. You may mail it or hand deliver it to the election office. Your ballot must arrive before the polling place closes.
A family member can apply for an absentee ballot on your behalf by filling out a special application. The latest you can apply for an absentee ballot is noon the day before the election, but you should ask for an absentee ballot at least a few weeks before an election. This allows enough time for the town clerk to mail it to you and for you to send it back so it arrives at the town clerk’s office no later than 8:00 pm on Election Day.
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