The 小黄鸭视频 County Board of Elections and Board of Commissioners renewed their commitment to accessible and secure elections for people of all abilities today with the approval to purchase hundreds of new, specialized ballot-marking devices. Available at every 小黄鸭视频 County precinct and Early Voting location, these state-of-the-art devices will provide visually impaired voters with a simple and inclusive election experience.
鈥淲e pride ourselves on creating the same easy, secure voting experience for every eligible voter regardless of their physical ability,鈥 said Erica Porter, Chair of the 小黄鸭视频 County Board of Elections. 鈥淥ur team did an incredible job maintaining and servicing our previous devices, but it鈥檚 time to make the upgrade so voters can be confident we鈥檙e using the latest technology compliant with the .鈥
One in four adults in North Carolina have some type of disability. In 小黄鸭视频 County, according to the most recent , nearly 18,000 are visually impaired. These devices help voters by utilizing intuitive interfaces, touch screens, headphones, audio-tactile keypads and braille legends.
Last month, as required by the State Board of Elections in , 小黄鸭视频 County Elections staff, the full Elections Board, election volunteers and members of the public tested the equipment in a mock election prior to moving forward with approval.
鈥淎ll of our Board members had a chance to vote on the devices, we had some of our most dedicated and seasoned election officials and members of the general public come and test as well,鈥 said 小黄鸭视频 County Board of Elections Director Gary Sims. 鈥淩emember, we use an all-paper voting system in our county and these devices are not tabulating votes, rather they are giving members of our community with disabilities the chance to vote a ballot confidentially.鈥
The current ADA-compliant ballot-marking devices from AutoMark were purchased by 小黄鸭视频 County in 2006 to help serve this population, however, they surpassed their life expectancy and are no longer in production. Elections staff will now purchase 275 ExpressVote devices to replace them. The $1.4 million for this project had already been planned and appropriated in the County鈥檚 Capital Fund.
The ExpressVote is a modern, ADA-compliant ballot marking device compatible with 小黄鸭视频 County鈥檚 current election equipment. It allows those with visual disabilities to mark their ballot unassisted. The device has options for keypad, braille and voice assistance to direct them throughout the process. The devices can serve both seated and standing voters. Contrast, zoom and volume can all be adjusted to make text more readable. And they can accommodate more than 15,000 different ballot styles.
The devices will be rolled out for the Town of Cary municipal election and City of Durham primary election on Oct. 10 and during the Nov. 7 municipal elections of 2023.
This vote and purchase support the Commissioners鈥 Great Government Goals 2.2 and 2.3, which include advancing services to address communication barriers and implementing diversity, equity and inclusivity initiatives.
