I watched a quadriplegic vote yesterday.

[JohnnyRingo]

I work a precinct here in NE Ohio, and yesterday afternoon I watched a woman (his mother?) struggle to push a young man through the door who had serious mobility issues. Because he couldn't help her at all-he even drug his feet somewhat-she had to struggle considerably to get him into the building.

I immediately imagined the ordeal they must have gone through to get him ready for the trip, and then loaded and unloaded from his vehicle. The workers in the precinct next to ours rushed to his aid and set up a special machine so he could cast his vote in a relatively meaningless primary.

I really wished I could take a picture of that young man coming through the door to send to friends who cough up every excuse in the world not to get out and vote. Our precinct, one of the most active ones in the county, saw about a 24% turnout.

BTW: The demo age of voters was akin to the typical audience of The Price Is Right. I wondered if the young voters would show up after work, but it never happened.

[hlthe2b]

1. My admiration for this pair

is overwhelming.

[Bluenorthwest]

2. Here in Oregon, this voter would have had some options including asking for an assistive voting

device to be brought to his home.
"If requested, election workers will bring an electronic tablet and a portable printer to the voter’s home to assist with voting. The tablets can accommodate multiple disabilities.
Benefits of Tablet Technology​
Voters on tablet technology can also increase the size of the font. Tablet technology also helps voters with cognitive disabilities or limited reading capabilities.

Tablet technology works well for voters with limited range of motion. Voters who are quadriplegic or have severe arthritis can use their fingers or a number of assistive technologies such as sip-and-puff systems to mark their ballots."

I'd like to point out that those ballots that are marked on the tablets are then printed out, hard copy, exactly the same as the ballots marked by able bodied voters. It is that ballot which is counted, the tablets retain no memory of the vote.
http://sos.oregon.gov/voting/Pages/disabilities.aspx

[JohnnyRingo]

4. Here in Ohio we would have brought a ballot to his car if he'd asked.

Perhaps they didn't know that, or maybe he enjoyed participating in such a noble right like everyone else.

The ballot would be the old fashioned "fill in the dot with a pencil" type that is then sealed in a box and optically scanned later at the BOE, but I'm not sure he was capable of doing that.

The laws here in Ohio were greatly improved while Ted Strickland was in office, and includes a paper printout. One copy remains in the machine, another is tamper proof sealed in a box and returned, and a third is posted outside the door at the end of the day. All are signed by poll workers (2dem 2 Rep), and have to match our books exactly. If they don't, we have to stay until we find out what happened.

I haven't a doubt that the tally here is correct as opposed to those days of Bob Taft that ended in January 2005. Unfortunately, his legacy lives on in the form of conspiracy theory.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. We all vote at home here, so to participate equally in this noble right means to vote at home

like everyone else. We don't have polling places. I want to be clear that I think that guy is a great American, I respect his efforts and would support him voting in the manner he wished. He's the very picture of election day. I am just very proud of Oregon's efforts at inclusion using current technologies, particularly after our utter mucking up of the health care website, a State wide embarrassment.

[MineralMan]

3. Bravo to that voter and the person who helped him.

During the primary elections, we get to choose who will appear on the general election budget. Sadly, all too many voters give up their chance to select their party's candidate by not showing up to vote. What a mistake that is!

Ohio's primary is early, and many states still have primaries coming up. I'd like to encourage everyone to participate in GOTV efforts to get more voters out to help choose general election candidates. If we can't bother to do that, we are forced to take the selection of those who do vote in primaries.

Here's the deal: If you don't bother to vote in your state's primary elections, and then come to DU to complain about the poor choices in the general election, I'm not going to sympathize with you. Go vote in your primary elections, and bring others with you. Don't miss your chance to choose the candidate for the general election.

Voting is a right, but it is also a responsibility. Go and vote whenever you have the opportunity, and encourage others to join you.

GOTV 2014 and Beyond!

[KamaAina]

6. Here* in California, the polling places are supposed to be accessible.

SUPPOSED to be. And the poll workers hate the HAVA-accessible electronic machine (one per precinct), because they have to stay a half-hour later to tabulate it. One group went to far as to camouflage it by covering it with a tablecloth and flower arrangement!

*- I am actually at Mom and Republican Stepdad's weekend place in NJ at the moment. R.S. is back in NYC, so no political discussions.

[Gothmog]

7. He should have been allowed to vote curbside

Federal law requires that disabled voters be allowed to vote curbside. In Texas, we have one unit at each polling location that can be taken to a curbside voter

[JohnnyRingo]

8. He could have.

I don't know if he was unaware of this, or if he just wanted to vote the same as someone who isn't handicapped, but he made quite an effort to do so. Most people's reasons for not showing up in a primary pale by comparison.

Had he voted in the precinct in which I was working, I would have explained that option, but wandering over to a neighboring precinct to talk to their electorate is impolite at very least, and strictly taboo at worst.

On edit:
We don't have the manpower to devote a special group to do this, but we'll temporarily shut down the precinct while one Dem and one Repub worker take the books outside. It very seldom happens, but I have no way of knowing if that's because of pride or ignorance. Each precinct only has four workers, 2 Ds and 2 Rs.