George, We should go a step further and press the government/Election Commission to gather specific data about the disabled during the next census. When such a huge effort is undertaken, it is not difficult for the EC to include questions such as whether a household has disabled inhabitants, if yes, how many, the kind of disability they suffer from, whether they are literate/employed, etc., in their questionnaire. Such an exercise would also yield authentic data about the exact disabled population in India.
Geetha ----- Original Message ----- From: "George Abraham" <geo...@eyeway.org> To: <accessindia@accessindia.org.in> Sent: Thursday, May 07, 2009 1:31 PM Subject: [AI] Voted today! Hi Friends, I casted my vote for the first time this morning. My polling booth was at the Community Centre of the colony I live in. The first task was to find my name on the voters list. This listing was not particularly well organised. However with a little help of the officials my wife and I found our names. There were lots of confusion between old lists and new lists. Once we got our slips we proceeded to the actual polling area. This booth had no Braille enabled EVMs. Neither were there any Braille dummy sheets. But then my wife and I cast our votes together and there was no real problem. After casting my vote, I was interviewed by CNN IBN who also shot me this morning right from the time I left my house. The coverage will be on TV this evening. I did mention that the Braille enabled EVMs was indeed a positive step, but then the entire voting process can be made more inclusive if 1. A head count of blind and visually impaired people could be done when voter lists and voter ID cards are reviewed and updated 2. Constituencies where VH voters live can be identified 3. Technology to be used to upgrade EVMs to be speach enabled. This would be a one time investment unlike the need to print braille labels every time when a vote takes place 4. Use computer data bases to varify voter lists on election day I intend to meet up with the EC after the polls to propose long term changes that would make the voting process inclusive. To my mind, this calls for greater planning and a more wholistic vision. This will not be possible without greater participation of the stakeholders. Regards, George George Abraham CEO Score Foundation Y-70, Lower Ground Floor, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016 India Ph:+91 11 26852581, +91 11 26852559 Fax:+91 11 26852559 Mobile: +91 9810934040 E-mail: geo...@eyeway.org Website: www.eyeway.org Eyeway Help Desk: +91 11 46070380 For online donations: http://www.giveindia.org/give/pledgepage/thescorefoundation To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
