Accessibility & the PCEA report:
Thoughts and Perspectives on AVTI Research
EAC/NIST  webinar
May 24, 2014
Jim Dickson
Co-Chair, Voting Rights Task Force
National Council on Independent Living
James.Charles.Dickson@gmail.com

Research Alliance for Accessible Voting Consortium

http://www.accessiblevoting.org/ 

•	The Association of Adaptive Technology Programs
•	The Center for Accessible Information
•	Carnegie Melon Silicon Valley
•	Clemson University
•	The Election Center/National Association of Election Officials
•	The Missouri Disability Vote Project
•	Rutgers University
•	The Tennessee Disability Coalition
•	The University of California at Berkley Computer Science Division
Accessible Elections
•	The disability community is very pleased with the president's commission on election administration recommendation.
•	The PCEA recommends that disability be baked into every part of the election process.
–	accessibility is not an add-on; it is a foundation
•	Election administration and disability access must be based on hard data –  not anecdotes, theory, or ideology
•	Elections are like disabilities, in that they are constantly changing

EAC research conducted by Dr. Juan Gilbert established Voter Pass, a major recommendation of the President's Commission on Election Administration.
Poll worker training
Paraquad Election Day Picture Guide
Use simplified language
•	Instead of using these: 
–	Select 1 out of the following 4
–	Select 2 out of the following 5
•	Use these:
–	Pick 1 of the following 4
–	Pick 1 of the following 5

Future Research
•	Election officials need a "coupon" so a local university can provide objective assistance and data for the unique administrative needs
•	Examples:
–	"Help me develop an RFP" 
–	"Help me train my poll workers" 
–	"How much office and storage space do I need?"
Ideas for future accessible voting research
•	Ways to make mail-in voting accessible
•	Ways to make voting machine magnification easy to use
•	Polling research comparing the voting experiences of people with disabilities to the able-bodied
•	Tools to help election administrators keep their websites accessible including plain language
•	Online Tools to help improve the polling place efficiency
•	Tools to assist election officials in making all election materials accessible and comprehensible
•	An interactive online tool to train poll workers on the accessible equipment and disability etiquette

Jim Dickson
Co-Chair, Voting Rights Task Force
National Council on Independent Living
James.Charles.Dickson@gmail.com
202-262-8240