INDIANAPOLIS — Voters with print disabilities will be able to try new technology that changes the way they mark ballots Saturday.
This weekend's Indiana Vision Expo will host a booth demonstrating the OmniBallot, a fully accessible and secure electronic absentee voting system for those with visual challenges.
Before this technology, these voters had to rely on a caregiver or poll worker to assist them in their homes or at the polls.
Now, the Marion County Election Board will send voters with print disabilities a link to the OmniBallot portal, where they can access an ADA-compliant, electronic ballot from anywhere on any device. The system connects with their existing browser, operating system, or screen reader.
Once voters mark their absentee ballot, they will send it back via the secure, federally approved cloud, for officials to print a physical paper ballot for them.
Marion County Clerk Sweeney Bell will be at the Indiana Vision Expo for the demonstration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 9, to help demonstrate and answer questions about the new system.
“Access to democracy for voters who have visual challenges or print disabilities was long overdue in Indiana,” Bell said. “I am eager for them to learn how the new technology works. It will simplify the voting process and afford them confidentiality, as well as security.”
Indiana now joins more than 15 other states that have used the OmniBallot system in nearly 1,000 elections since 2009.