Even the most seasoned of election inspectors had some learning to do for this American election. For the first time in history a voting machine for people with disabilities was implemented into the voting process. With a price tag of $11,500, these machines known as the Sequoia/Dominion Image Cast or more commonly known as the Plan B machine definitely do not come cheap.



In the past people with disabilities could not vote independently so for them this is much bigger than most people could imagine. There is one machine available per polling site and at 391 sites this project is running the country $4,496,500. Sixty-nine of the machines were used at the September primary election and all were excited by its success. People who have tested the machines said they catered to people with a wide variety of disabilities and could really broaden the voting pool.

There have always been large groups of disabled people who would forego voting solely for that fact that they could not go on their own, there has even been talks of having special voting dates for disabled people. The machines are very much like the digital machines that will replace all the manual lever units currently in place, sporting touch screens that allow voters to see their options and scanners that print paper ballots for verification.

There are of course distinct features to help those with disabilities: an audio component for voters that are visually impaired, and a sip-and-puff attachment and foot paddles for physically disabled voters with limited or no upper-body movement. These are among the most complicated machines that voters have seen, and the voting process on one of these units takes about 15 minutes. With all the work and preparation that went into the new machines its safe to say that one thing is for sure, the American public realizes that it was time to bring facility to disabled people and make voting an easy process for all of the American public.