For this, in our state, the v i ps have been asked to register their names
to the respective returning officers of each constituencies .
renuka
----- Original Message -----
From: "Geetha Shamanna" <gee...@millernorbert.de>
To: <accessindia@accessindia.org.in>
Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 8:26 PM
Subject: Re: [AI] Blind can vote without help at the polls
This article and several such others in the past fail to answer the
all-important question: How will the EC determine where these
braille-enabled EVMs are to be installed? Does the EC have a list of blind
voters and the polling booths they will be casting their votes in? Without
such data, this massive effort to make voting accessible to the blind will
for most part be futile.
Geetha
----- Original Message -----
From: "manoj gupta" <writet...@hotmail.com>
To: <accessindia@accessindia.org.in>
Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 10:14 AM
Subject: [AI] Blind can vote without help at the polls
Date:25/03/2009 URL:
http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200903251011.htm
Back
Blind can vote without help at the polls
New Delhi (IANS): It is aimed at giving the blind voters dignity and
secrecy. For the first time, Braille-facilitated electronic voting
machines (EVMs)
are being introduced on a large scale for the 15th Lok Sabha polls.
"A total of 1.05 million EVMs are being used, of which 4,50,000 are
Braille-enabled. These EVMs are spread across the country in many
states," an Election
Commission official told IANS.
He said earlier the rule was that one person would accompany the blind
voters. "Now, the blind persons can cast their vote without any help."
India is estimated to be home to at least 15 million blind people.
The facilities provided by the poll panel have not come easily. The
Election Commission was petitioned by activists and NGOs working in the
disability sector
to create the necessary infrastructure for disabled people, including the
sizeable blind population.
Fighting for this cause was the Delhi-based Disability Rights Group,
which approached the Supreme Court and got a favourable ruling in 2004.
So the first time the Election Commission used Braille-facilitated EVMs
was in a by-election in Andhra Pradesh in 2004, soon after the apex court
ruling.
"After it proved successful, we used it subsequently and expanded it
whenever there were elections in different states," the official said.
But this is the very first time that Braille-enabled machines will be
used on such a large scale in Parliamentary polls.
According to Satbir Silas Bedi, Delhi's chief electoral officer, the
assembly elections held last year in the national capital had the Braille
facility
on EVMs.
"The idea behind this move was that the blind voter would be guaranteed
dignity and secrecy of his vote," Mr. Bedi told IANS.
Before the introduction of these EVMs, which have a strip of paper
encoding the options in Braille stuck on it, the blind voter used to be
accompanied by
an officer who would help him cast his vote, Mr. Bedi said.
Welcoming the step, George Abraham, who runs the NGO Score Foundation
that works for the blind, said: "It's a wonderful initiative. It will
enable the visually
impaired to not only exercise their rights but also educate others."
"I want more and more blind people to come forward and vote and have
their say," said 50-year-old Abraham, who will be voting this time after
a long gap
as he has finally got his voter identity card after a few hiccups.
However, he pointed out, there are a large number of blind people who do
not know Braille.
"There are many visually impaired who don't know Braille. So I hope they
will be allowed to take their relatives along when they are casting their
vote."
The Election Commission official also said they would continue to allow
blind people to take along a person to assist them to vote.
Mr. Abraham suggested that the poll panel could have conducted a survey
to find out how many blind people are there in a constituency. "They
could have
assessed the situation easily. The survey would have shown them which
constituency needs such Braille-enabled EVMs and which do not."
Mr. Abraham said as compared to the 2007 assembly elections, this time
many NGOs are actively working to promote Braille-enabled EVMs among
blind people.
"In the US, the voting machine also has a talking device that gives out
all the information at the press of a button. Here too such a step can be
taken
so that everyone can understand. Braille has limited access. But voice
could include more people. Maybe, the (Election) Commission can decide on
that in
future."
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