Before every election, Massachusetts tests accessible voting machines that all polling locations must provide voters with disabilities, like those who are blind or have low vision, so they may vote independently. Many of these machines, called AutoMARKs, are nearly 20 years old.
Despite the aging tech, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s office said the test runs help voters avoid problems at the ballot box.
“You shouldn’t really run into any issues on Election Day,” said Deborah O’Malley, the office’s communications director.
She added the state keeps backup machines on hand and an employee ready to deliver them if an issue arises.
Disability advocates say they are hopeful the AutoMARKs will operate without complications this election. Though rare, however, they say machine malfunctions or printer jams have forced voters to wait to cast their ballots. Pressed for time, some voters opted to let poll workers mark the ballots for them.
“I think my worst experience was in the 2016 presidential election,” said Nona Haroyan, a leader with Bay State Council of the Blind.
Haroyan, who has low vision, arrived at her polling place early that day and snapped on the machine’s headphones so she could hear its audio cues. She then clicked its arrow-shaped buttons marked with braille for those who read it to select her candidate. She thought she was finished voting, but then her ballot would not print.
She had to wait roughly two hours for the cartridge to be replaced. Poll workers offered to mark her ballot for her, but she wanted to vote on her own.
“How many people would trust a stranger to fill out a ballot for them?” Haroyan said. “Do you know for sure that they’re going to vote the way you want to vote?”
Haroyan’s experience is rare. In the 2020 presidential election, most Massachusetts voters who were low vision or blind did not experience issues with the AutoMARK machines, according to a survey conducted by Bay State Council of the Blind.
Election officials say when problems do happen, it usually has to do with the machines’ setup. Poll workers receive training on how to assemble and use the equipment.
In 2022, Nancy Mathys, who is blind, said she went to vote in Plymouth only to find the machine was still in its box.
While municipalities try to educate poll workers, a deluge of information to cover sometimes means “accessibility gets really overlooked,” said Brianna Zimmerman, a Disability Law Center voter rights advocate.
The 2002 Help America Vote Act requires accessible voting devices in polling places across the country. In 2006, Massachusetts bought AutoMARK machines for every polling location that did not already own one.
Anyone can use an AutoMARK, and the technology benefits a range of people facing barriers to voting independently. People who have difficulty operating a touchscreen or holding a pen can vote using the device’s sip-and-puff tube. Voters also can adjust the size and contrast of text on the screen, and select a language other than English.
The machines were a game-changer for Myra Ross, who had always voted with the assistance of her parents or husband. Now, Ross casts her ballot in private.
“The first time I voted with the AutoMARK was an unexpectedly emotional experience for me,” said Ross, who added that she has never had an issue with the machine.
The technology has served blind voters well, said David Kingsbury, president of the Bay State Council of the Blind.
“The AutoMARK machines, when they work, are accessible,” said Kingsbury, noting he believes the state has been a leader in voter accessibility efforts. “They’re easy to use, and we don’t take that for granted.”
Still, Kingsbury anticipates the machines will get “buggier” the older they get. He hopes that when the state moves to replace them, those in charge seek input from people who are blind or have low vision.
AutoMARK machines are no longer manufactured by Election Systems & Software, according to Katina Granger, a company spokesperson. The business still supports the equipment, but they’re finding election offices now opt for newer technology, funds permitting.
In Massachusetts, voters with disabilities can also cast their ballot through an accessible vote-by-mail option.
Sharon Strzalkowski prefers the mail-in option, but said the AutoMARK machines remain an important part of the state’s voting infrastructure.
“I realize that for a lot of people who can see, they just take for granted that they go into the booth, the paper is in front of them, they do their thing,” she said. “But for us, it’s never been that simple.
“Voting is a civil right, and if we get that right, it means that we as people with disabilities are being counted in our democracy.”
This story was originally published by WBUR. It was shared as part of the New England News Collaborative.
