Tuesday, blues day, better wear shoes day

Touch Screen Voting Machines Make it Easier for All Idahoans to Vote

By Jennifer Gelband, 11-06-06

Hallelujah! Only sixteen years after the Americans with Disabilities Act came into play, Idaho’s disabled voters finally can hit the polls with a little ease. Thank goodness our politicians care about all of their constituents. Oh, no, wait. It isn’t the politicos; it is Boise State University students and teachers who are making it possible for those voters who previously needed assistance to vote on their own now.

That’s because the Help America Vote Act of 2002 requires an accessible voting device be available in every precinct in the state by the first federal election after January 1, 2006.

There are now 900 Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines in Idaho precincts -- each of machines uses a touch screen to enter and record votes. The device also has features to help people with impaired vision such as audio elements, the ability to enlarge the type on the screen and a Braille keyboard. It also has headphones to assist people who have difficulty hearing, and the touch screen is good for those that have a hard time marking a ballot (remember the dimpled chad?). It also, thankfully, produces a paper trail, which is required by Idaho statute.

More than 100 BSU students involved in a partnership with Ada County and the school’s Public Policy Center have been trained to set-up and run the new machines.

“We found the students were very comfortable with setting up the machines, and operating the technology,” Dr. Stephanie Witt, director of the Public Policy Center, told Fox News. “And we hope they provide a good complement to all those long-serving poll workers who have worked with Ada County for many years.”

Now that the act of voting will be easier for all Idahoans, all that remains difficult is selecting the least skeevy candidate.

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