E Voting -- A Key to Independence for All
By Lepp, Uelle; Loide, Erik; Proceedings of the Conference & Workshop on Assistive Technologies for People with Vision & Hearing Impairments: Assistive Technology for All Ages (CVHI-2007), Granada, Spain, 28th - 31th August, 2007,Publication Date: 2007
Paper outlines the development of an Internet voting system as a means of guaranteeing election participation for citizens with disabilities in Estonia. The issuing to all voting age citizens and residents of Estonia of an electronic ID card was essential in the development of e-Voting. Voting via the Internet can be accessed from any computer which has (1) a chip card reader with relevant software for using the ID card, (2) Internet connection, (3) a windows, Mac OS, or Linux operating system, and (4) screen reading software if needed. A pilot study testing accessibility and usability of the e-Voting environment for people with visual impairments was conducted during the advance voting period of parliamentary elections in 2007. Visually impaired expert participants completed the e-Voting procedure using JAWS versions 6 and 7. The most complicated steps of the procedure were identified, as follows: (a) identifying the layout of the e-Voting interface, (b) navigating so that the selected candidate would be highlighted, (c) voting for the selected candidate, and (d) confirming one’s choice by using personal PIN code. Specific guidelines for visually impaired voters using the screen reading software were developed based on solutions found to these problems. During the March 2007 elections, 5.45 percent of the participating voters used e-Voting.
Assistive Products Discussed: JAWS FOR WINDOWS
Published by: CEUR Workshop Proceedings (Website:http://SunSITE.Informatik.RWTH-Aachen.DE/Publications/CEUR-WS/)
Link to text: http://sunsite.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/Publications/CEUR-WS/Vol-415/paper10.pdf
