Mail-in ballots are convenient, fast, secure, a way to avoid unneeded transportation, long lines in bad weather, and in a pandemic, they are safe. The one thing they are not is equally accessible to the blind. To independently fill out a mail-in ballot requires the ability to read and write printed materials, which requires sight. The last time I filled out a mail-in ballot, I had to use a reader/scribe to complete the ballot, all the while listening to their commentary about my choices while having no way to independently verify that my choices (and not the scribe’s choices) were actually put on the ballot.
For years I have been asking Utah’s Director of Elections Justin Lee and Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen to remedy this issue. There are internet-based options that are available to solve this problem and they are widely used in other states and jurisdictions. There is funding available through the Help America Vote Act, as well as a private grant program that would provide free money that would fully fund the purchase of this technology. Federal pandemic-related funds are also available, but the powers that be still won’t address this issue. And now we are in a pandemic and out of time.
These election officials tell me I can go to a physical polling location and use a talking machine instead of casting a mail-in ballot. I guess I have to spend money and time to travel to a polling location, stand in long lines in cold or bad weather, and risk my life to vote in a pandemic while everyone else in Utah can cast their ballot from the convenience, warmth and safety of their living room.
Am I the only one who sees a problem with this? Shame on you, Mr. Lee and Ms. Swensen, for not fixing this issue over the last several years when you had time. If I die casting my ballot, my death will be on your shoulders.
James Reed, South Salt Lake
