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# RE: VIBS Write-In Instruction Modifications

- To: <rcr@dieboldes.com>
- Subject: RE: VIBS Write-In Instruction Modifications
- From: "Barry Herron" <bhglobal@earthlink.net>
- Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 20:02:59 -0600
- Importance: Normal
- In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.0.20020114023708.00aba0a0@mail.earthlink.net>

I had a very lengthy discussion with Peggy Elliott today regarding the VIBS issue and how our system works. Peggy is associated with the National Federation of the Blind and has been working on this subject for over ten years. She is a blind attorney and a concerned voter. She confirms the use of the telephonic keypad as the best method for the blind voter to interact with an audio voting system. The NF of the Blind endorses such and beginning this month a publication will be available for the blind community to access newspapers in an audio fashion. To use the system, the person interacts via a telephone keypad. The keys functions are standard and include the 6 to advance and the 4 to go back. The 7 and 9 are used to speed up and slow down the speed of the voice. She recommends we follow consistently with the blind association doctrines and procedures. Peggy is going to write a paper summarizing our discussion and ultimately send it to Curtis Choung of the NF of the Blind. She can be invaluable to our further refinement. Interestingly she does not agree with special keys unless they are distinctive and easily recognizable to the voter. She thinks the blind voter would prefer the telephonic keypad overwhelmingly. She will send the draft to me for review within a few days. PS. Finished Kentucky TS and Audio certification today. A blind voter participated on the examiner board and gave very favorable comments about our approach. He was very comfortable with the keypad instructions once he got into the ballot. He felt most blind voters would navigate OK after part way into the ballot. Barry Herron Vice President of Sales Global Election Systems 1611 Wilmeth Rd. McKinney, TX 75069 (972) 542-6000 (972) 542-6044 -----Original Message----- From: owner-rcr@dieboldes.com [mailto:owner-rcr@dieboldes.com]On Behalf Of Mark S Earley Sent: Monday, January 14, 2002 1:48 AM To: rcr@dieboldes.com Subject: Re: VIBS Write-In Instruction Modifications Would we then be open to objections and concerns about people who cannot type? Would such a large keyboard be confusing and disorienting to visually impaired voters? It was strange, first they mentioned that fewer keys, with tactile shapes, would be easier to understand. They referred to the iVotronic 4 as an example of a good solution - only 4 buttons total. Then later, they complained about confusion due to the same key handling more than one type of command depending upon the situation. At this point I mentioned that their first preference of having fewer keys (like the iVotronic) would cause even more use of multiple functions per key, but they somehow missed the inconsistency in their positions. Mark At 1/13/2002 08:38 PM, you wrote: Is it possible to provide a qwerty keyboard with every VIBS set-up? Greg ----- Original Message ----- From: Steve Knecht To: rcr@dieboldes.com Cc: Deborah Seiler Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2002 7:19 PM Subject: Re: VIBS Write-In Instruction Modifications Mark, I'm curious about item one and the key assignment explanations. Are the folks recommending this blind themselves, or is this something that they've checked out with the blind? If they have and this is supported by the blind, then perhaps its a good idea. I'm curious whether this is coming from folks with or without keypad experience. Deborah have you run into this type of request? ----- Original Message ----- From: Mark S Earley To: RCR Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2002 2:00 PM Subject: VIBS Write-In Instruction Modifications The outcome of the BS 4.1.6 evaluation by the Florida Division of Elections is they are requiring three modifications before certification will be granted. One of the changes is modification of the Write-In Instruction Set and prompts. There two basic modifications required in the write-in mode: Explain the assignments of letters to the 2 through 9 keys more fully. Change the wording of: "To finish entering this write in candidate, press 0." ======================== Examples of possible modifications: 1. Explanation of letter assignments to keys: "To enter letters of the candidate name, press 2 through 9. The 2 key is assigned A, B, C. The 3 key is assigned D, E, F. The 4 key is assigned G, H, I. The 5 key is assigned J, K, L. The 6 key is assigned M, N, O. The 7 key is assigned P, Q, R, S. The 8 key is assigned T, U, V. The 9 key is assigned W, X, Y, Z. Press a key multiple times to cycle through the letters assigned to that key. When you have entered a letter correctly, press 0 to accept that letter and move on to the next letter. If you forget what key a letter is assigned to, press various keys until you get close to the letter you want, then press that key several times to locate the correct letter. Remember to be methodical and patient while voting. For Space, press 1. To Cancel your write in vote, press 0." Repeat this prompt until the first letter is entered. Then go back to the regular prompts. example: Voter enters 7777 for the letter S. You have entered S. To accept S, press 0. To delete S, press *. Voter presses 0 to accept S. Prompt returns to: To enter letters of the candidate name, press 2 through 9. For Space, press 1. etc. It may be a good idea to include the sentence: "If you forget what key a letter is assigned to, press various keys until you get close to the letter you want, then press that key several times to locate the correct letter." in the repeating prompt. 2. Change the wording of "To finish entering ... to: "To accept your entries and vote for this write in candidate, press 0." Note that the required changes must be done before the FL Div will certify Ballot Station with Audio Ballot capabilities. They have stated several times that if we get them something promptly, they will expedite the evaluation and certification. Mark

- References:
  - Re: VIBS Write-In Instruction Modifications
    - From: Mark S Earley <meglobal@earthlink.net>

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