Voting alone

ConnectSavannah.com, GA, USA
Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Voting alone

By ROBIN WRIGHT GUNN

(extract)

Eastside resident Donna Culver is looking forward to voting in this Tuesday's 
city election. Although she's been an active voter "ever since I've been able," 
until last year the now-54-year-old business owner always had to rely on other 
people to aid her in casting her ballot. Culver was born legally blind and lost 
her vision completely in 1987.

"I've always had to have voting assistance up until this last time," says 
Culver. In 2006, for the first time, blind voters in Chatham County were able 
to vote without assistance thanks to a "tele-touch" voting machine that 
utilizes similar technology as the screen touch voting machines in place for 
the general public

"I really don't trust other voters to help because they can say they're voting 
the way you asked them to vote," says Culver, "but they could just say they 
were and then vote the way they want."

Culver describes the voting machine for the blind as a computerized system with 
six Braille-numbered keys and a headset offering recorded instructions to the 
voter.

"Over the headsets it would tell you what the candidates were running for," 
says Culver. "On the amendments, it gave a brief little memo about what the 
amendment was about. It would tell you what to press, like press three for yes 
or two for no."

"At the end of the voting it would review the whole ballot and say, 'If all 
these things are true then press one, if not press two.' Everything was true. 
Then the computer card came out just like it does with y'all and I was done."

"My husband was so impressed with my reaction that he went ahead and voted 
without assistance, because his vision is getting worse." Although he has some 
sight, Culver's husband Robert is also legally blind.

"It was great. It was cool," says Donna Culver. "Here I was, 53 years old and 
for the first time in my life able to vote by myself. It was fantastic." 

Email Robin at rgunnsav@xxxxxxxxxxxxx


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