Marta
Rally in Palm Beach
Dear List Members;
This morning (Friday 11/10) a rally of people with disabilities was held in downtown Palm Beach Florida to protest the flawed election ballot in that county and to demand a new vote. This rally was organized by Greg Smith, host of the On A Roll Radio Show (http://www.onarollradio.com). With the assistance of the Palm Beach Center for Independent Living we were able to make quite an impact. A street next to the government center had to be closed for us. I must admit that we were out numbered by the media as there are T.V. and print media crews there from all over the country and all over the world. Every network including Fox and MSNBC interviewed several of us. Hopefully your T.V. station will cover some of this rally. We were also interviewed by the Associate Press so something may be in your morning newspaper.
The reason for the rally is that the so called "butterfly" ballot had its greatest impact on people with disabilities. From a seated position in a wheelchair it was impossible to look down on the ballot as a person who could stand would do. There were no voting machines at a wheelchair accessible height. The line of site that people using wheelchairs had made it impossible to see what punch holes lined up with which names. All a wheelchair user could do is count down the number of names to the name of the voter's preference and then count down the same number of punch holes. The problem is that Gore was the second name but the third punch hole. The small arrows on the ballot could not be seen from a seated position. There are many more people with disabilities who use wheelchairs in Palm Beach County than the number of votes separating Bush from Gore in the statewide totals. If people with disabilities who use wheelchairs in Palm Beach County had been provided with accessible polling and an accessible ballot the outcome of the election would be decided at this time and Gore would have been declared the winner.
People who are blind also did not have a fair opportunity to vote. There were no Braille ballots, no large print ballots, and no system to provide assistance to voters who are blind. One man I spoke with had his taxi driver vote for him. He hopes that the driver punched the right holes. For people with limited vision there were no tracking lines between the names of the candidates and the punch holes. Without tracking lines all people with limited vision could do was count down the number of names and then count down the number of holes. Again, an intent to vote for Gore did not result in a Gore vote. Because Bush was the first name on the ballot and the first punch hole this problem had no impact on those voting for Bush.
If all goes according to plan a lawsuit will be filed on Monday seeking a new vote in Palm Beach County. Florida has a polling place accessibility law that was violated in this election and the violation has affected the national outcome. People with disabilities have a civil right to equal access at voting polls and a right to have voting materials that can be seen, understood, and used correctly.
Sincerely yours,
Fred
-- Frederick A. Shotz ADA Consulting Associates http://www.adaconsulting.com
Leading The Way To Equal Access For People With Disabilities --