Absentee Voting + Blind and Low Vision Voters

Date & Time

Wednesday, March 15, 2023 - 1:20 PM PST  

Location

Grand AB  

Description

To vote, bank or even grocery shop, blind and low vision people are often forced to disclose personal information to sighted intermediaries. This information could easily be weaponized, turning essential activities into high-risk scenarios. Voting is a prime example of a high-risk scenario. In-person experiences generally require some amount of sighted assistance with a paper ballot. During the 2020 presidential election a surge in absentee voting, motivated by COVID-19, exposed a further gap in accessibility. Not a single state offers a fully independent absentee ballot for blind and low vision voters. I conducted interviews with 12 blind and low vision voters to better understand their experiences and their approach to the need for human assistance where options for independence are limited. This presentation puts the results in context and proposes user-focused design solutions for absentee voting and similar high-risk privacy scenarios.  

Audience

• Information & Communications Technology
• Disability Specific
• Government
• Legal

Audience Level

Intermediate  

Session Summary (Abstract)

Absentee voting has boomed since the advent of COVID, yet it remains fundamentally inaccessible. This presentation synthesizes interviews with 12 blind and low vision voters and proposes user-focused design solutions to improve voting independence.  

Primary Topic

Blind/Low Vision  

Secondary Topics

• Independent Living
• Law, Compliance, and Policy
• Research

 

Session Type

General Track  

Presenter

• Lauren Trimble
  Thomson Reuters

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