WASHINGTON – A federally sponsored project is trying to make the voting system more accessible to veterans who were injured on the battlefield.
In an update Tuesday before a joint panel of lawmakers, Brad Fain, a technical director at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, and other researchers described the steps being taken through the program, called Making Voting More Accessible for Veterans with Disabilities. It was launched in 2010 by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the Georgia Tech Research Institute and the Operation BRAVO Foundation.
Problems such as visual and hearing loss, emotional distress, and amputation have made it hard for some veterans to exercise their voting rights, Fain said. After interviewing 104 injured veterans, Fain said, he found many have trouble accessing ballots due to either physical limitations or cognitive difficulties, while others are dealing with memory loss and other mental health issues.
Fain said technology is the key factor in eliminating the barriers, but instead of a systematic overhaul of the voting system, researchers are taking smaller steps. A series of experiments includes making the ballot text more legible and improving existing ballot display technology for those who have trouble touching the screen.
Because many injured veterans reported having difficulties accessing paper ballots, Fain recommended a web-based procedure where veterans can request ballots be sent to them via email. The researchers are also developing an electronic tool that allows veterans to use devices like a computer mouse to mark ballots.
Although the technologies are still in the testing phase, experts pointed out that a big challenge the project faces is that many newly injured service members have little experience with assistive technologies. Fain said while current accessibility solutions might not be “optimal,” they can’t be effective without corresponding policy support.
Carol Paquette, board secretary of the Operation BRAVO Foundation, said federal and state election offices should work with the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide better voting assistance services, such as uniform procedures for providing voting assistance in VA facilities and providing more on-site training for voting assistants.
Rep. Ron Barber, D-Ariz., said it is the government’s “absolute” responsibility to make policies that help deliver the new voting technologies.
“The veterans come back with injuries that last [a] lifetime, but that does not mean they cannot become productive citizens,” he said.