City election officials jumped ahead of the state by agreeing to buy 1,800 ballot marking devices. The city will put one in each of its 1,369 polling locations and will place the rest as demonstrators in senior centers and other locations where people can get accustomed to them before going to the polls.
The devices provide disabled voters with audio and visual aids and allow them to cast paper ballots using a touch screen or keyboard; a tube they can use to sip and puff air; or foot paddles. The ballots are then sealed and later hand-counted along with absentee ballots.
Election officials said that buying and storing the devices and training workers how to use them will coat $40 million. Some or all of the expensive may be offset by HAVA money. Some officials say they might have to be scrapped after one year if they do not meet new standards. Others say they still could be used to create ballots for optical scanning devices.
Michael H. Drucker
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