• There are usability problems with electronic ballots, too. In 2006, the 13th Congressional District race was won by just 369 votes. On the Sarasota County ballot (left), it shared the screen with the governor’s race, and 13 percent of voters (more than 18,000) skipped it. In neighboring Charlotte County (right), it was on its own screen; only 2. 5 percent skipped the race. Trying to save voters one click may have changed the results of the election.

 

completed ballots to the state in which they claim U.S. residence.

Some counties, including Bernalillo County in New Mexico, have moved to voting centers instead of neighborhood polling places. In exchange for fewer locations, voters can vote at any of them, no matter where they live in the county. This allows more flexibility, such as going to vote during the day at a location near work.

Analysis of census data shows that although people with disabilities still vote at a lower rate than those without disabilities, this gap is narrowing, from 7 percentage points in 2008 to a 3 percent gap in 2010 [ 8]. Convenience voting is especially helpful for voters with disabilities, who choose it in larger numbers than voters without disabilities. This makes sense when you consider the challenges of traveling to an unfamiliar location and the number of polling places that are not fully accessible. A vicious circle can result, with polling places and voting systems becoming even less accessible as voters with disabilities become less common—and less visible in the political process.

Another issue is that absentee and mail-in ballots are on paper, making independent voting impossible for those with print disabilities. Election departments, including those of Denver, Miami, and Oregon, have programs that take a virtual polling place with accessible systems to voters in assisted-living facilities or to those who cannot travel to a voting center for any other reason. Online systems, like the ones for overseas voters that print a marked ballot, could also help people cast an absentee ballot more accurately and accessibly.

 

Long Lines and Other Disasters

And this brings us to the big issues of 2012: Superstorm Sandy and long lines.

There is not much to say about
the long lines that many voters
experienced, especially in urban
areas. The worst cases were in
Florida, where voters waited in line
for up to seven hours. But two- to
three-hour waits were common,
with polling places closing late to
allow everyone to vote. Long lines
are simply the result of a failure
to estimate the numbers of voters
or the timing of when they would
arrive at the polling place, and to
provide enough capacity to handle
the crowds. Look for a lot of discus-
sion this year about solutions to this
problem, such as adding extra poll
workers in the evenings or increas-
ing options for early voting.

March + April 2013