My experience voting as a person with a disability

Voting is a human right. But are all voting experiences created the same? Unfortunately, not always. For someone like myself who has a disability (I am blind), the quality of my voting experience depends on whether accessibility has been taken into consideration when designing the process.

Go back a few presidential elections, and the accessible voting equipment we had to use was pretty poor. However, having just completed the voting process for the 2024 election, I am happy to report that the experience has improved tremendously. It’s not perfect, and I’ll describe some lingering issues below. But overall, this will be a post where I can share many positives.

By the way, if you haven’t read anything from me before, I do have a disability, but I’m also an accessibility professional, so I’m in a pretty unique position to both analyze and experience accessibility (or the lack of it!) in the real world.

So, I invite you to come along with me as I go through the process of voting in person using the latest accessible voting technology here in Texas, where I live.

The sample ballot

My first step in the process was to review the sample ballot provided by my county, which, for me, is Bexar. Have you heard of Bexar County? It’s the fourth largest county in Texas, the sixteenth largest county nationally, and more than two million people live here.

To get my sample ballot, I accessed the county’s website from home. I like to do this prior to heading out so I can prepare for my experience at the poll. Reviewing the sample ballot beforehand helps me decide if I’ll need to perform any research, take any notes with me, or if I can contain all the relevant data in my head.

After accessing the county site, it was easy to locate the link to early voting information, where I found my sample ballot. It was offered in PDF format, which makes sense. But it also made me a little concerned, as I’m usually pretty disappointed with PDF accessibility.

Some accessibility issues

I opened the PDF and was presented with a document in the Chrome browser that was readable, which is good. However, it was not really in what I would call an accessible format. The text was there, but the reading order, labels, and graphics needed work.

The biggest issue was how the document handled the English and Spanish text. It’s important to have both languages, but the problem was that the English and Spanish texts were intermixed—you’d read a line or phrase in English, and then it would be immediately followed by the Spanish version. This made things pretty confusing, and I had problems associating people’s names and the positions they were running for.

My verdict (and recommendations)

In the end, I wasn’t really able to use the sample ballot for anything more than having an idea of what the actual ballot would be like. This problem could be fixed with proper reading order tags or, if needed, by providing two PDF files, one in English and one in Spanish. I understand that the PDF is meant to represent the printed page and that the official ballot likely would have both languages on the same page. Still, the bottom line was that I had a bad experience reading the sample ballot and think the problem could have been avoided with proper manual testing using a screen reader.

For critical documents like the sample ballot, I strongly suggest that local and state government PDF creators work on reading order and accessible user experience.

Finding a polling location

The local county government website is also where citizens can go to locate early voting sites. It’s actually the same page as the sample ballot. I was expecting to find a directory of locations along with addresses. Instead, I got another PDF! I was unable to read it, so I ended up downloading it locally and using JAWS OCR to Word for review.

I eventually found a couple of locations that would work, but I was disappointed by the level of effort it took to get the data. A day later, I did some more research on two different computers—one with the paid version of Adobe Reader and one with the free—and I was able to pull the PDF-based list down in the browser and read the list, which appeared in a nicely formatted table. This was surprising, as it seemed like the PDF had been updated to become more accessible between my first look and my second attempt—which were only a day apart! It was a happy surprise, but a surprise all the same. Still, progress is progress, even if it’s happening in real time!

On-site at the polling location

A friend drove me to the early voting site and told me the parking lot was completely full, and a line was going out the door and around the building! Fortunately, my friend was able to find a parking spot fairly quickly. I asked my friend to deposit me at the head of the line (a perk of having a disability!) and then leave. I wanted to see how the poll workers would handle working with a person with no vision.

After presenting my ID and picking up a ballot, I was shown where to sign for my ballot. A nice poll worker told me she would show me the accessible voting machine, and I asked for an elbow to do sighted guide. I was led to a desk in the corner, directed to a chair, and assisted to find the port for my earbuds. I was shown the slot for the ballot, and the poll worker helped me orient the blank ballot to allow it to be fed into the computer.

At that point, I was all set for a voice-guided experience based on a touchscreen—something similar to my iPhone. Instead, I was given a small keypad to use. It had nice tactile marks, and the audio feature was already turned on and ready to provide me with a guided tour via synthesized speech. The instructions were good, the keypad was simple to operate, and I was all set to vote.

One thing to note regarding privacy. One of the first things the training tutorial covered was the diamond-shaped button on the keypad, which is used to turn the screen on and off. This is a handy feature if you’re working unassisted and have a poll worker at your shoulder. This privacy feature was appreciated, and I used it during my time at the machine.

My verdict

I can say this new hardware was a joy to use compared to the original accessible voting equipment we were using fifteen years ago. The speech was a quality voice that was easy to understand, and multiple languages were offered. I could adjust the rate and volume, and as soon as I got the hang of the controls and the format of the screens, I was able to whiz through my selections just as if I were using a screen reader on my laptop. Prior systems were slow, had only one speed, were not responsive, and made you listen through every word before accepting input.

My entire time at the terminal, including training? About fifteen minutes!

Voting

After completing the initial voting process, I was able to easily review my selections and confirm my final vote. The form was printed, and I was shown where to retrieve it. I got up, ballot in hand, and the poll worker walked me over to the ballot processing system, where it was fed into a scanner for processing and deposited into the polling box.

The poll worker stayed with me the entire time, and they were ready to assist me in any way. They also kept a close eye on my friend in the hall. I think they were looking to them as a lifeline in case a problem emerged that they couldn’t handle. I was received by my friend when it was time to go, and I am sure the poll worker breathed a sigh of relief that all went smoothly assisting the blind guy!

My verdict

In-person voting is now a breeze, and I won’t be nervous about doing it next time, even if I take an Uber to the polls if a friend is not available. The poll workers were trained and easy to work with, the location was prepared, and the equipment worked.

However, the websites that support the process still have opportunities to improve. I am hopeful that the new Title II ruling by the DOJ will encourage people to fix some of the problems I experienced with inaccessible PDF documents.

Conclusion

I hope everyone who reads this article enjoys it and finds it informative. I am especially hopeful that it will be read by individuals such as:

• Election officials
• County and state government officials
• Manufacturers of election hardware
• Content creators for local, county, and state websites
• Accessibility professionals working in the local and state government space.

Accessibility is a team effort, and stakeholders will need to work together to make voting accessibility a reality for all citizens—including those with disabilities. Admittedly, the process isn’t always easy. It takes a lot of forethought and a lot of testing. Voting, however, is one of our most essential rights, so the effort is worth it.

At Deque, my colleagues and I know how important it is to be proactive about digital accessibility. Building inaccessible experiences just means you have to fix them later, and that’s inefficient and expensive. By focusing on accessibility from the start, you save time and money, all while doing the right thing for people who are ready to exercise their right to vote.

Have you voted yet? If so, let us know about your experience by commenting on this post! And if you still need to vote, go do so. It’s your right.