Accessible Voting Down Under

Voting Down Under

Blind fury: vote veto by vision impaired
Phillip Hudson
April 4, 2009

ADVOCATES who are visually impaired will refuse to vote in the next federal election as an act of civil disobedience if the Rudd Government abandons electronically assisted voting.

Special machines - telephone-style keypads and headphones connected to a computer - that allow the visually impaired to cast a secret and unaided vote were introduced at the 2007 election at 29 polling booths.

Human Rights Commissioner Graeme Innes, who is totally blind, said he was overjoyed to cast that vote because he always had to rely on someone to help him.

"I had tears in my eyes," he said. "I was able to exercise what I regard as a very important democratic right."

Mr. Innes is angry at the call by the Parliament's electoral matters committee for the $2.2 million scheme to be scrapped after just one election because only 850 people used it. Disability groups had raised hopes more than 20,000 people would cast electronically assisted votes.

The committee said the cost for each vote cast was $2597, compared with the average cost of $8.36.

Committee chairman, Sydney Labor MP Daryl Melham, said: "I understand their hurt. It was a trial and in terms of turnout and cost per vote. It was a failure.
I don't feel good about making the recommendation."

The deputy chairman, Liberal MP Scott Morrison, said: "It's not a never-ever recommendation.

"If circumstances change, if technology improves, if we're able to get those costs down then the committee would be prepared to look at it again."

Blind Citizens Australia president David Blyth said scrapping the system would be contrary to the recently signed United Nations convention on the rights of persons with a disability. He called for "civil disobedience".

"If my right to vote in a confidential, secret and independent ballot is denied then I choose not to exercise my right to vote,"20Mr Blyth said. "I urge other people who are blind or vision impaired to consider doing the same."

The Greens leader, Senator Bob Brown, said: "Instead of abandoning electronically assisted voting, Australia should be promoting it … on the established principle that the more who use it, the cheaper it gets."

The final decision will be made by the Special Minister of State, John Faulkner.

Provided by:
Helen S. Benlisa

Project HAVA Coordinator
NYAIL Election Reform Committee, Co-Chair
888 NYS HAVA (v/tty)
(888 697 4282) (v/tty)
nyshava@ccfi.us

Catskill Center for Independence
PO Box 1247 Oneonta, New York 13820
607-432-8000 (Voice/TDD) 607-432-6907 fax
www.ccfi.us
"EVERY DAY IS INDEPENDENCE DAY"