Machines to assist voters with disabilities
New ballot tabulating machines will make it easier for Thunder Bay residents who have disabilities to cast a ballot in the municipal elections.
“For those individuals who have varying accessibility challenges, these new machines have some additions that we can offer at two locations on election day and during advanced voting,” city clerk and returning officer John Hannam said.
The machines offer three options for casting ballots.
There is a tactile keypad to assist individuals who have visual impairments; a sip-and-puff device for people who are quadriplegic; and two paddles for someone who can only make a selection using their feet.
“It prints an entire ballot and marks it for them in a way that you couldn’t tell if it was a person or a machine that marked it,” Hannam said.
The City of Thunder Bay moved to vote tabulating machines in 1997. Purchasing those machines cost about $180,000, he said.
The city entered into a contract with Dominion Voting Systems for the Oct. 25 elections, a byelection should one occur, and the 2014 elections. Hannam said leasing the machines costs $35,000 to $40,000, although with support services and other supplies it comes to $80,000.
He said it’s worth the cost to make sure everyone can vote in private. He said when someone who is visually impaired voted in previous elections, they would have to bring someone with them to help.
The new vote tabulating machines also create a PDF of each ballot and electronically send copies of all the ballots along with the results.
Unlike people, the machines that count votes don’t make mistakes, Hannam said.
The machines are tested before and after the elections to ensure they are working properly, he added.
He said he didn’t think the new assistive machines would increase the voter turnout by much, “but they could raise the awareness about voting.”
He said the assistive vote tabulating machines will be at the DaVinci Centre and the Italian Cultural Centre on election day, Oct. 25. They’ll also be used next week for advance polling at the Thunder Bay 55 Plus Centre Oct. 12-13, and at West Thunder Community Centre Oct. 14-15.