By Steve Jacobson

Over the past several years, there have been several articles in these pages regarding accessible voting machines, and several of us have reported on related issues at our conventions as well.  Many of us have attended numerous demonstrations of voting equipment and we have patiently endured countless legislative hearings.  There have been challenges that have arisen questioning whether accessible voting was even possible.  Some felt that perhaps only certain elections should be accessible.  Questions were raised in some states as to whether machines that gave us access to a secret ballot could be trusted.  Certain counties in Minnesota felt they needed to chart their own course and this raised compliance questions.  We have worked through all of these issues, though, and at long last, the blind of Minnesota finally have voted for the first time with a truly secret ballot.

We first used the AutoMARK machine to vote in Minnesota's primary elections last September.  Now we have used it in the November general election.  Almost without exception, the experience has been smooth and very positive.

I did not expect to be able to vote independently in my lifetime, and I must say that the feeling of knowing my vote was completely secret evoked more emotions than I had expected.  My feelings seem to have been shared by many blind people throughout Minnesota and the entire country who voted for the first time using a completely secret ballot. 

Where do we go from here?  The Minnesota Legislature created a workgroup to monitor issues surrounding the AutoMARK machine and the Help America Vote Act, and we are involved in that effort.  Following our experience with the elections, many of us completed the survey put together by this workgroup.  Please continue reporting problems when they occur. 

Voting systems and processes will continue to change as technology changes, and as is always the case, we will need to watch this closely to ensure that new technology doesn't exclude us.  Efforts need to continue to expand the use of accessible voting equipment so more people can benefit, particularly as the population ages. There are many people who do not yet realize that accessible voting machines can help them, too.  The more this equipment is used, the harder it will be for anyone to reverse our progress in this area.  In short, the work continues and we will stay involved.

But this is also a time to celebrate and enjoy the fruits of our labor.  Probably most of us assumed that a completely secret ballot was beyond our reach.  Sometimes, it can be a lot of fun to be wrong.  Thank you to each of you for helping make this possible.