Election Changes Falling into Place

Thousands of Kentucky and Indiana residents may cast their ballots in new locations in the spring, as communities scramble to meet key provisions of a massive federal voter-rights act designed to ensure accessibility for all.

The Help America Vote Act, which will take effect next month, requires that all U.S. voting sites meet the standards for accessibility -- with handicapped parking, ramps at the proper slope and doors wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs.

A.J. Feeney-Ruiz, spokesman for Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita, said: "We really don't know" how many voting sites might have to be moved to meet the standards. But Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson predicted that 10 percent to 25 percent of his state's more than 3,500 precincts may have to be moved to meet the act's requirements.

The act also requires at least one special machine for disabled people at each voting location -- meaning that thousands of blind and disabled Americans will, for the first time, be able to vote without the assistance of others.

It's hard to describe the importance of that part of the act, said Terrie Terlau, a blind woman who lives in east Louisville and vividly recalls the election of November 2002 -- the first time she was able to cast her ballot without help.

She used one of four special machines that Jefferson County bought that year as part of a pilot program for the disabled; they read off a list of candidates to a voter wearing a headset, who then can make their choices with a key pad.

"It was phenomenal. … I sat there in complete privacy, and after voting, I cried," Terlau said.

Federal rules

Congress passed the Help America Vote Act against the backdrop of the Florida 2000 presidential-election debacle, saying it was necessary to ensure the integrity of elections and the right of every American to vote.

It also appropriated nearly $4 billion to implement the act, the bulk of which is going to reimburse states for buying machines with special voice systems and touch-screen mechanisms, which cost $3,000 to $5,000 each.

In addition to headsets for the blind, the machines' touch-screen mechanisms and text messaging features make them adaptable for the deaf and those with other disabilities.

Kentucky expects to get about $20 million of the federal appropriation, said Les Fugate, a spokesman for Grayson. The money is being divided among counties, based on their number of precincts; the federal allocation requires a 5 percent state match.
Indiana, with about 5,500 precincts, stands to get about $35 million in federal money, Feeney-Ruiz said.

Most Kentucky counties are buying the special machines for each precinct -- even when several precincts are bundled in one voting location, and even when the number of disabled voters is slight.

For example, Bullitt County Clerk Nora McCawley said her county plans to buy a machine for each of its 44 precincts, for nearly $5,000 each, though it probably has no more than 10 disabled voters who will use them.

And Robertson County Clerk Stephanie Hendricks said her county plans to buy one voting machine for each of five precincts -- even though all five will be located this year at a high school gym in Mount Olivet.

Jefferson County Board of Elections member James Steinfeld calls such spending "overkill" and predicts that some of the machines will go unused, given that some precincts won't have any disabled voters.

But Grayson said he expects the machines will bring disabled voters out in record numbers. Although the state doesn't keep track, Grayson said he believes at least some have not been voting because of the perceived and real hassles involved.

And in addition to helping the blind and hearing-impaired, the special machines can be used by people with limited use of hands or those who have cognitive or reading difficulties, said Sharon Fields, executive director of the Kentucky Disabilities Coalition, a nonprofit group that helped review the accessibility of voting sites in the state.

Some county clerks also say they are buying more machines than they need now to ensure they can meet the act's provisions in the future.

"Every citizen should be able to exercise the right to vote," said Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw. "We are making sure they can."

The voting machines

Kentucky and Indiana both allow disabled people to bring someone into the voting booth to help cast their ballots. Another option is to be assisted by both a Democratic and a Republican precinct officer.

But Gary Mudd, a blind Jefferson County resident, said that's not always convenient, and he knows some blind people don't vote because they don't want to ask for help.

Mudd, like Terlau, has been voting on one of the four special machines in Jefferson County, and he welcomes the impending nationwide changes. "It's great to be able to do something so simple as voting your beliefs by yourself," he said.

The Jefferson election board voted Tuesday to spend $1.37 million to order 400 machines for the disabled from a Texas supplier.
Holsclaw said the deal includes software, training of election officials and maintenance guarantees.

While Jefferson County has 510 precincts, Holsclaw said she hopes to get by with one or two at many locations with multiple precincts.

In Indiana, election officials expect that most counties will buy a special voting machine for every precinct.

Keith Groth, clerk of Clark County, which has 70 precincts at a total of 50 locations, said the county plans to buy 70 machines.

Linda Moeller, first deputy Floyd County clerk, said Floyd is ordering a machine for each of its 60 precincts, plus extras in case of breakdowns.

Accessibility

Both Indiana and Kentucky are leaving it to the counties to decide which voting sites need to be relocated to meet accessibility standards.

In Jefferson County, Ky., 45 locations have access problems that cannot be easily fixed, which means as many as 100,000 voters may be assigned new voting locations in May, Steinfeld said.

Holsclaw said some churches and other owners of private facilities used for voting have agreed to make mostly minor modifications to bring their sites into compliance.

Oldham County expects to have to move five of 34 voting sites, but Bullitt doesn't expect any relocations, officials said.

In Indiana, Groth said Clark County expects to relocate five to 10 of its 50 voting sites. Moeller said Floyd County may have to move only one of 35 sites.

Meanwhile, both Kentucky and Indiana voters face long ballots for next May's primaries, with numerous federal, state and local elections.

The combination of a long ballot, thousands of people voting at new locations and new voting machines means the primary is "certainly going to be a troublesome election day," said Don Blevins, the Lexington-Fayette clerk. "I'm planning on fleeing."