Nonvisual Election Technology Training Curriculum
Purchasing an Accessible Voting Machine
What do we want in an accessible voting machine?
We want a machine that can be converted for audible voting relatively easily. The machine should be usable by all voters with minimal or no training needed. Integration of all voters is our goal. We do not want a separate blind station. All voters should vote on the same type of machine at a polling location. A machine should be usable by both blind and sighted voters.
What should happen during the ballot review process?
As blind voters, we should be able to move freely from contest to contest and not be required to listen to all the instructions and text. All the text of each contest must be present and readable if we choose to listen to it. Nonvisual appearance of the ballot does not have to reflect the audio presentation, so the exact appearance of the printed ballot is not important as long as all the information is presented audibly. At the beginning of the ballot, voters should know the total number of contests. The actual contests should be described when they are presented. As each contest is selected, the total number of candidates and the maximum number of candidates to vote for must be announced. As candidates are selected, the number selected should be announced. It should not matter whether a voter decides to cast votes or skips to another contest or just votes for one candidate. Voters must be able to cast their votes at any time. A review function must be available and the voter must have the opportunity to decide whether to listen to the review or cast their vote immediately. During the review process, it should be possible to move freely between contests and to have the chance to change a previous selection. Blind voters should retain the possibility of obtaining the assistance of a sighted reader.
We advocate an active approach rather than a passive one. If we do nothing for more than twenty seconds, an instruction should be given regarding the choice to be made. The system should not move on to another selection or action until an item is completed. If a voter does not take any action for several minutes, the machine should indicate that the voting process is about to terminate with no ballot cast. This protects against someone else voting in place of the present voter.
Other than the visual factor, blind voters have the same capabilities as sighted voters. If a machine is in demonstration mode it should say that it is. Otherwise no special message is needed.
Evaluation Criteria for Voting Machines:
The following criteria are preferred by a cross section of potential blind voters.
Machines should be easy to use by both blind and sighted voters and poll workers. The interface should not require the use of a technical expert, and it should be easy to learn at the polling location. The speech must either be high quality synthetic speech or a high quality digital recording of human speech. Care should be taken by the manufacturer and the voting district to ensure proper pronunciation of candidates' names and information unique to local areas.
Voting machines should be able to display text on the screen, providing touch screen and audio voting at the same time or set to provide visual only or audio voting only. The voter should be able to make these choices on the machine. Large high contrast print and the ability to reverse colors such as white letters on a black background should be selectable.
The volume of the machines must be adjustable by the voter. We also should be able to adjust the speed and pitch of the voice. Recordings should be made so that there are no fluctuations in volume between sections of the voting process.
Keyboards should have reasonably large size keys, preferably larger and with more space between them than a typewriter. High color contrast should be used for voters with low vision. A beep or click should be audible to verify that a key has been pressed. If using the arrow keys, include a selection key. The vote key for casting a ballot should be separate from the other keys or its function should be clearly identified.
For write-in votes, each letter must be selectable by confirming with the select key. There should be a spelling option to review letters entered. The spell function should pronounce the word after it has been spelled. Spaces denote the end and beginning of words. Instructions for selecting letters and completing the write-in selection must be clear and available during the write-in process.
Help should be available throughout the voting process. A separate key should be used to request help, and the help should be contextual, with specific help provided depending on where in the process the voter is when requesting help.
For machines providing printed receipts, a review of the receipt should be read after casting the ballot. It should be similar to what is spoken during the voting process, indicating all votes cast and any contests not voted. No opportunity is given to change selections since a vote has been cast. When an optical scanning system is in use, we have the chance to hear what has been printed and then place our ballots in the box with the other ballots for that polling place.
Instructions must be concise and provide a complete list of the keys and their functions. Voters should be able to move from the instructions to the ballot at any time without having to listen to all the details.
Headphones must be available on site or voters should be able to use their own. Standard walkman style headphones may be used. A standard 1/8th inch stereo mini jack should be provided so that audio is heard in both ears.
We should note that all of the voting machines demonstrated in the National Center on Nonvisual Election Technology have some of the features discussed here, though no single machine has every feature. It is possible to vote independently on these machines by most blind voters. We continue to work with the manufacturers and voting officials on improvements to the machines and the voting process.
HAVA Usability Checklist
Pre-Voting
Can poll workers be trained to assist blind voters with minimal interaction? Can poll workers be trained to assist blind voters without the need for using actual blind voters in the training process? Is the voting machine accessible in default mode?
That would be preferred but is not necessary. Can the voting machines be switched to accessible mode easily and quickly (in under 10 seconds)? Does an incorrect attempt at mode-switching pose any risk of invalidating votes from other voters? Does an incorrect attempt at mode-switching pose any risk of incapacitating a voting station? Does an incorrect attempt at mode-switching pose any risk of committing to voting in an inaccessible mode for a given voter (i.e., you can't back out)? Can the voting machines be switched out of accessible mode easily and quickly (in under 10 seconds)? Does the voting machine switch back to default mode automatically after a voter votes in accessible mode? Can a poll worker easily reset a voting machine to accessible or default mode if a ballot is abandoned mid-voting?
Orientation
Can the voter ask questions of the poll worker before the voting process gets started? Who initiates the voting process--the poll worker or the voter?
It should be the voter. Are the initial instructions that are given by the poll workers before leaving the voting area sufficiently simple and understandable? Can the voter restart the voting training process if the poll worker or the voter initiates the voting training process too early? Can the voter or poll worker restart the voting training process after voting has been initiated? Does the voting machine's operating instructions sufficiently explain how to operate it in accessible mode, or is poll-worker instruction required? The machine should explain how to operate it in accessible mode. Is the audio interface easy to understand by anyone who can understand English? Is the audio interface easy to understand by non-native English speakers? Is the audio interface easy to understand by speakers of other languages? Is the tactile interface easy to discriminate? Is the tactile interface reasonably intuitive (by separating functions between different buttons or tactile zones)? Is the interface forgiving of tactile mistakes (incorrect key or screen presses)? Is the tactile interface easy to remember? Are the tactile interface functions consistently separated (with functions not overloaded in different modes)? Are all audio instructions easy to remember, including how to:
hear which contests are available
hear descriptive information available for a contest
select between multiple contests
hear which candidates are available for a given contest
select one or more candidates
go back and change selections for a given contest
confirm selections
cast the ballot when finished
get help at any time
cancel the voting process entirely Is the voter given the opportunity to hear instructions as many times as needed? Is the voter clearly told how to initiate the voting process? Can the voter initiate the voting process without assistance?
Voter Identity
Can a voter easily identify himself/herself to the voting machine? Is the voter assured that the voter identification step is secure? Is the voter's identity confirmed in the voting initiation process? Is voter eligibility confirmed for general, open elections? Are voter eligibility and voting restrictions confirmed for races where party affiliation may restrict voting options? Is the voter's party affiliation confirmed at the voting station at the time of voting?
Voting
Learning about what contests or races are available
Is the voter told how many contests are included in a given election? Is the voter required to make any unnecessary actions to discover what contests or races are available?
Moving between contests or races
Is the voter required to listen to the entire text of a contest title or race before moving to the next one? Is the voter warned if no option is selected before moving on to the next contest or race? Is the voter required to take an action to switch between one mode scrolling through a list of contests/races and another mode scrolling through a list of candidates/options? Can the voter inadvertently cast the ballot by moving beyond the end of the list of contests or races?
Learning about what candidates or options are available
Is the voter told how many candidates or options are available for a given contest or race? Is the voter required to listen to the entire text of an option before moving to the next one? Is the voter warned if no options were entirely heard, yet an option was selected, before moving to the next contest or race? After listening to available options for a given contest or race, can the voter inadvertently move on to the next contest or race?
Selecting candidates or options
Is the action required to select a candidate or option intuitive? Is selection of candidate or option confirmed via audio? Is the selection of a candidate or option interruptible? Is the action required to un-select a candidate or option intuitive? Is un-selection of candidate or option confirmed via audio? Is the un-selection of a candidate or option interruptible? Is the voter clearly informed when multiple selections may be made for a given contest or race? Is the voter updated as to how many more selections may be made when multiple selections may be made in a contest or race? Is the voter clearly informed if he or she tries to make too many selections for a given contest or race? Is the voter reminded how to un-select candidates or options when he or she attempts to select too many candidates or options for a contest or race? Is the voter reminded to verify or cast the ballot after selections have been made for all contests or races?
General
Can a novice voter finish voting in a reasonable amount of time? Is the interface always recoverable? Does the interface actively tell the voter what can be done at any given time? Will the interface tell the voter what can be done at any given time if asked to do so? If a voter abandons a voting station before casting the ballot, are any of the votes counted?
Verifying and Casting the Ballot
Is the voter given the option to verify selected candidates and options? Is the voter clearly told how to verify selected candidates and options? Are verification and casting of the ballot the same action? If verification and casting of the ballot are separate actions, is the user clearly told how to cast the ballot? During verifications, is the voter required to listen to all selected options before casting the ballot? Is the ballot verified by audio? Does the voter control the pace of the ballot verification output (i.e., moving between verification of each contest or race)? Is the voter given a chance to redo any votes if the verification is not as expected? During verification, can the voter make changes to individual contests or races immediately? Are all selections clearly intelligible? Is the ballot confirmed via a print copy? Does the printed copy identify the voter (in machine-readable or human-readable form)? Does the voter get to keep the printed copy? Is the information on the print copy printed in human-readable form? Is the information on the print copy printed in machine-readable form? Is the voter clearly instructed how to hold and/or submit the printed copy if necessary to cast the ballot? If the voter gets to keep the printed copy and later objects to the ballot contents, can the voter invalidate or re-cast the vote? Do ballot verification and ballot casting happen on the same machine?
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