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RE: VIBS Write-In Instruction Modifications
Again, customize the
write-in instructions to suit. As you can see, not all states are going to
buy into this request. Me, I think prattling on about the letters of the
alphabet is a bad idea, but if that is what they want, the system is designed to
allow that customization.
For what it is
worth, the audio ballot was never meant to replace voter education. That
is silly. When a sighted voter picks up their AVOS paper ballot from the
poll worker, the poll worker tells them how to fill in the oval, what to do if
they spoil the ballot, comments on the weather, etc. Computers are not
very good at explaining things. People are. I think people hear the
phrase "unassisted voting" and get carried away. Voting is not an
unassisted process, for anyone. If blind voters need help with entering
write-in names, they can always as for help. That is the best interface of
them all.
Ken
The request came from the blind rep who was
evaluating the system. He said he figured out the concept quickly enough, but
he said he doubted some ordinary Joe off the street would pick up on it. I was
very surprised to hear him say that. I tried it out with the ballot hidden,
and it was pretty obvious from the start.
Basically, they wanted some
sort of explanation regarding the letter assignments. Possibly another
solution would be to simply mention that keys 2 through 9 are assigned letters
according to the standard U.S. telephone assignment pattern (or some
description similar to that), as such:
"To enter letters of the
candidate name, press keys 2 through 9. Letters are assigned to these keys
according to the standard U.S. telephone assignment pattern. 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 are unsure 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."
I can run both
options (and/or others) by the FL officials on Monday. This new version I have
submitted above may be short enough that it can be the repeating instruction
set. I understand that having one instruction set for the beginning, followed
by a different set that is repeated involves more software coding. What do you
think about the sentence in red - unnecessary, unwieldy, unclear?
In
general, their objections were strong enough that they deemed the system
uncertifiable, but vague enough to leave definitive solutions up in the air.
Note that except for the first rcr submitted regarding the VIBS ballot review
process starting at the beginning of the ballot, none of their objections were
accompanied by specific solutions.
Mark
At 1/13/2002 07:19 PM,
you wrote:
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