Problems with Privacy: My 2009 Vote Story

This Election Day, I wondered if I would have the trouble that I had last year at my polling place. It took me almost two hours to vote because the machine had not been turned on. Or, would the machine be "broken", as it was claimed to be when I tried to vote on Primary Day this past September. Oddly, the machine had broken down a few minutes before I came, and they had called it in. I later learned that the Board of Elections had received no such call.

I arrived a bit after 8:00 am, presented myself to the election inspectors, and signed in. After I finished, the gentleman (I'll call him Tony) pointed toward the lever machine, but I wanted to use the accessible voting machine. They called to Don, the tech guy. The screen was still blank, but I was told that they had powered up the machine earlier. After about ten minutes, they were able to get the screen to operate, and I was able to vote with no problems at all. The ballot printed out quickly and slid nicely into the privacy sleeve. I smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.

This is where I celebrate the happy ending, right? Where I sail out the door on a cloud of elation for having the first hassle-free voting experience since I've been in New York, right? WRONG!

Almost immediately, Tony snatched my ballot out of the privacy sleeve, glanced at it, and proceeded to put it into the scanner. I asked Ruth, one of the ladies at the desk, about privacy in voting and she instructed Tony to let me see my ballot. Tony handed it to me without the privacy sleeve. I glanced at it, and handed it back.

I asked about privacy again, and she assured me that they wouldn't pay attention to how I voted, but meanwhile, Don had taken the ballot from Tony, and was perusing it, reading it like he was reading the morning newspaper! I was aghast, and my jaw literally dropped. I said, "See, this is exactly what I mean"! Ruth then yelled to Don, "Hey, hey, stop that! You can't do that"! It took a full 30-45 seconds to get his attention, then, he handed the ballot to Tony, who scanned it, then folded it and put it aside. Ruth apologized, but I shook my head in disgust, got my "I Voted" sticker, and left.

I left that voting experience with a really bad taste in my mouth. The thought of not being able to cast my vote in secret like everyone else made me exceedingly angry. I wasted no time in contacting the Monroe County Board of Elections, and spoke with Commissioner Tom Ferrarese, who was every bit as appalled as I was. He placed a call to the polling place and gave a stern reminder to the inspectors about privacy and the use of the privacy sleeve on ballots cast on the accessible machine.

It certainly seems, based on other complaints that I've received, that many of our election inspectors still don't get it when it comes to voting access for people with disabilities. I have come to the conclusion that I will continue to have problems at the polls for the foreseeable future. I will, however, continue to fight for the right of people with disabilities to vote privately, independently, and secretly, just like everybody else.