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Elections Office
Kathy E. Van Wolfe
County Records Building
214 North 4th Street, Suite 300
Waco, Texas 76701
P.O. Box 2450
Waco, Texas 76703
Phone: 254 757-5043
Fax: 254 757-5041
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The eSlate Voting System
by
Hart InterCivic, Inc.
1-800-223-4278
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One of the hallmarks of the
eSlate electronic voting system is accessibility.
The eSlate offers accessibility to people with a wider variety of disabilities
than does any other voting system on the market today.
Developers at Hart InterCivic are committed to the rights of every individual
to cast a private vote. This commitment
has been in place from the beginning, years before the new federal Help America
Vote Act mandated accessibility.
With the eSlate voting system
access is not “separate but equal.”
It is equal, period. Voters who are
sighted or blind vote in the same manner.
The eSlate is not a touch screen system that can be adapted to provide accessibility.
With the eSlate, all voters use a rotary precision navigation system to turn to their
choice and then press a large ENTER
button next to the wheel to mark that choice.
Both the wheel and the buttons require very little strength or dexterity.
Voters who have suffered a stoke that
permanently reduced strength and mobility have used the interface without difficulty.
Specifically, the eSlate offers
accessibility in six ways.
First: An audio component is available
to voters who are blind or have a severe visual impairment.
Technologists and consumers of various ages who are blind
tested the eSlate along with other electronic voting systems on the market
today. Working through the American
Foundation of the Blind’s Technology and Employment Center in Huntington, these
testers ranked the eSlate
number one because of
its ease of use and fully accessible
features.
The voter hears the entire
ballot using headphones with volume control.
The voter may take as long as he or she wants to complete the voting process.
And having information repeated is as
simple as turning the wheel counter-clockwise.
Turning the wheel clockwise moves the voter through the ballot and each “notch”
forward triggers the audio. Every choice
marked by the voter is verified by the audio.
If a voter changes his or her mind, simply turning the wheel until the correct
choice is heard and pressing the ENTER button will remove the earlier choice and
mark the new selection.
The audio uses a human voice
that is usually specific to the locale.
A male voice is used in most instances to provide a frequency level most easily
heard by those who experience hearing impairments in addition to visual ones.
Although the speed cannot
be varied, the voter can turn past any instructions, contests, or candidates as
quickly as desired. Listening to every
word is not necessary.
Likewise, color contrasts
used to display voting instructions and the ballot are not voter options.
The colors used were selected, however, to make viewing the easiest for the
widest range of visual impairments causing color distinction problems.
If an individual needs large
print in order to read the ballot independently, he or she may, at the beginning
of the voting process, select the large print option.
Second: Voters who are quadriplegic may also vote privately using a sip
‘n puff device to move through the ballot and mark choices.
Poll workers are trained to help disconnect the device from the wheelchair
and connect it to the eSlate so voting using one’s breath can begin.
Third: Over 70% of polling sites in the United States are inaccessible to wheelchairs.
For those voters who cannot get into the polling site, irrespective of the reason,
poll workers can disconnect the eSlate and bring it to a car so that voting can
be accomplished without coming inside.
The battery-powered eSlate weighs just 7.7 pounds making it easy for any poll worker
to carry curbside.
Fourth: At least one booth at each polling site is ADA compliant.
The eSlate booth is the perfect height for a chair or wheelchair and tilts
forward for easy viewing of the ballot.
The eSlate booths are included as part of the purchase by any jurisdiction.
And finally, if a voter uses
a neck loop to increase his or her ability to hear audio emitted from an electronic
device (as may be the case with a person who is both blind and has a severe hearing
impairment) that voter can use the neck
loop to enhance his or her hearing of the eSlate audio system.
The voter’s hearing aid must be fitted with a telecoil, and the RCA connector
must be compatible with the eSlate audio output jack (3.5mm).
Literacy and Languages
Although not specifically
considered accessibility issues as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act,
those who cannot read and those who do not read English are also accommodated.
Any voter can choose to listen to rather
than read the ballot. The ballot is
presented in print and auditory form in all languages required by the jurisdiction
in charge of elections, whether that is one or eight.
Training
Even with all these accessible
features, people with disabilities may still encounter difficulties voting in private
at the polling site if poll workers are not properly trained.
Working with experts in the field of disabilities, Hart InterCivic has developed
and incorporated a disability etiquette section into the training of all poll workers
responsible for operating the eSlate system.
Additionally, a two-hour optional
training session for poll workers is available that focuses specifically on the
accessible features of the system, etiquette, how to provide meaningful verbal instructions,
and inspecting the polling site for and removal of physical barriers to accessibility.
Voter Education and Outreach
Taking a “test drive” or receiving information about “How to Vote
Using the eSlate” prior to first using the eSlate in a live election increases voters’
comfort and confidence. Knowing this,
Hart InterCivic developed the first voter education and outreach program in the
industry. This program has received
national recognition and was awarded first place nationally by PR Week for outstanding
marketing.
Hart’s Voter Education specialists
work with local jurisdictions to evaluate their communities and develop a tailored
plan to provide voters with information about the new system.
Hart makes sure all plans use a wide variety of communication channels and
include a specific emphasis on reaching older voters and voters with disabilities
to provide information and an opportunity to use the system.
Hart InterCivic has worked
closely with groups such as the American Council of the Blind, the American Foundation
of the Blind, and the National Federation of the Blind to provide information about
the eSlate system and to acquire input from consumers that will improve the system.
As a result of these relationships,
the most current version includes several improvements to accessibility.
Conclusion
All of this demonstrates Hart
InterCivic’s commitment to excellence.
After you try it, we’re sure you will agree, the eSlate is the most accessible,
fully integrated electronic voting system on the market today.
eSlate is a trademark of Hart InterCivic, Inc.
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