Oregon Introduces Voting by iPad

Some Oregon residents will cast their vote in a special primary election today using an iPad.

Election workers in the pentad counties participating in the election to replace U.S. Representative David Wu — who hopeless amid a sex scandal — deliver been seeking out residents with disabilities who might have a hard time making it to the polls and oblation to let them make their choice with Apple's tablet computer or else.

The portable arrangement was chosen because IT allows voters with limited mobility to make their choice in private, either aside tapping their chosen candidate along the screen, Oregon using an attached "sip and puff" device for those who cannot use their fingers. The completed ballot is so printed and put in an envelope for the voter to mail in or take to an official ballot box, accordant to an Joint Press study.

Deborah Houghton, a Washington County resident, was visited by a county voter assistance team with an iPad because she has trouble reading material the fine mark along ballots. She says she was capable to use the device to make the print enormous enough to read the elector's guide and ballot for herself and vote on her have.

Voting officials say the iPad's Bluetooth capability could also be harnessed to allow voters with disabilities to connect to the voting computer software victimization their own paddles, joysticks and other assistive devices.

Oregon was the first off submit to allow statewide voting by mail, and if this pilot project — which will be continued for the special general election in Wu's former district in January — is flourishing, IT could shortly be the first to put away iPads into use in statewide polling.

The iPad vote experiment in reality began in 2010, because much of the posit's voting equipment for people with disabilities was reach the end of its life and the state was looking for more inexpensive replacements. Apple donated five iPads for the fancy, and the state developed the balloting software.

So far, there's no plans to pioneer iPad voting to the undiversified population. Oregon voting officials articulate they would need cardinal iPads per county, operating theatre a unconditioned of at to the lowest degree 72, to expand the program statewide to try to reach as umpteen voters with disabilities as possible.

Follow Eric on Twitter , and at ericmack.org . Follow PCWorld on Twitter , overly.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/478064/oregon_introduces_voting_by_ipad.html

Posted by: biscoecloons1986.blogspot.com