Vote-PAD (Voting-on-Paper Assistive Device)

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Accessible Voting Without Computers

The Voting-on-Paper Assistive Device, called the “Vote-PAD,” is an inexpensive, non-electronic, voter-assist device that helps people with a broad range of visual or dexterity impairments to vote independently.

“I can’t use my fingers, so I have to hit a touch screen with my whole hand and I get lots of error messages. I can use the Vote-PAD.”
~ Maria Matos, Boston Center for Independent Living

The Vote-PAD can be used in any jurisdiction that uses voter-marked ballots. It is customized for each ballot in each election to provide access to the precinct’s hand-counted or optically-scanned paper ballot.

The heart of the Vote-PAD is the transparent “ballot sleeve,” which encloses the ballot on both sides and reveals the content of the ballot that slips into it. The Vote-PAD is composed of one custom ballot sleeve for each sheet of a ballot. The sleeves are bound together between front and back opaque covers for privacy.

Holes are cut out of the sleeve at locations where a voter can mark choices and write in candidate names. The sleeve protects the ballot from stray marks.

A page-turning aid is attached to the outside of each sleeve and each cover to assist voters with dexterity impairments in turning the pages.

Raised dots attached to the sleeve beside each cutout provide tactile indications for voters with visual impairments. An audio tape interprets the raised dots so listeners know which hole corresponds to which candidate — just like the tactile ballot template used in Rhode Island.

“I was very impressed with the entire process. I was able to vote independently and privately, with very little assistance.”
~ Alvin Blazik, Board Member, Bucks County Association for the Blind

Unlike voter-assist methods that only offer audio instructions, the Vote-PAD can be accompanied by Braille and large-print instructions as well. The Braille supplement makes the Vote-PAD the only system that provides independent voting for people who are deaf-blind.

A light-sensing wand allows voters with visual impairments to review their selections. As they play the second section of the audio tape, or re-read the Braille or large-print instructions, they touch the wand to each marking location and press the button. The wand vibrates and hums when it senses a mark; it is still when there is no mark.

An optional tactile write-in sheet is provided for voters who may have difficulty writing a name in the cutout. On the write-in sheet is an embossed grid. Using election-specific instructions in the audio, Braille, or large-print guides, the voter marks one cell in the first two rows to indicate the office for which the voter is writing in a candidate. Then, in the lower 26 rows of the grid, the voter spells out the name of the candidate — one letter per column in the row designated for that letter.
A completed write-in sheet is affixed to the ballot and placed in an envelope for special canvassing, as provisional ballots are.

An opaque, sliding “privacy shield” sits in a pocket inside the front cover and slides part-way out to conceal the ballot as it is being deposited in a ballot box or precinct scanner.

The ballot for each election in each jurisdiction is unique. Because each sleeve is specifically constructed to match a unique ballot sheet, the Vote-PAD is custom built for each ballot. Therefore, production of each Vote-PAD is designed to be inexpensive so that the Vote-PADs can be recycled or discarded after each election.

The Vote-PAD was developed in cooperation with people with dexterity impairments and people with visual impairments, whose advice and suggestions we gratefully included in the design.