By John McDevitt
Published May 15th 2007 in Philadelphia all news radio KYW Newsradio 1060
Making a quick stop to vote on Tuesday wasn't as speedy as some would have liked.
And some voters, including the blind, who opted for audio instruction couldn't go faster even if they wanted to.
Led by her five-year-old guide dog Pattie, 51-year-old Suzanne Erb of center city Philadelphia -- blind since birth -- made her way to the elevator of her apartment building and then to the second-floor polling place.
Once there, a volunteer guided Erb's hand to the spot where she was instructed to sign the registry.
Erb waited for her turn in line. A volunteer led her into the polling station. Inside the voting booth, Erb put on headphones and followed the recorded voice instructions.
It took more than 30 minutes for her to complete the voting process. Compare that to some sighted voters who were taking three or four minutes. She says it was frustrating:
"I would like to be able to speed it (the recorded instructions) up, because there's no reason why it should have taken me 31 minutes to vote."
Erb isn't a fan of the electronic voting booths -- she favors a paper trail. She also says that poll workers seemed a little better trained this year in assisting her than the last time she voted.
And some voters, including the blind, who opted for audio instruction couldn't go faster even if they wanted to.
Led by her five-year-old guide dog Pattie, 51-year-old Suzanne Erb of center city Philadelphia -- blind since birth -- made her way to the elevator of her apartment building and then to the second-floor polling place.
Once there, a volunteer guided Erb's hand to the spot where she was instructed to sign the registry.
Erb waited for her turn in line. A volunteer led her into the polling station. Inside the voting booth, Erb put on headphones and followed the recorded voice instructions.
It took more than 30 minutes for her to complete the voting process. Compare that to some sighted voters who were taking three or four minutes. She says it was frustrating:
"I would like to be able to speed it (the recorded instructions) up, because there's no reason why it should have taken me 31 minutes to vote."
Erb isn't a fan of the electronic voting booths -- she favors a paper trail. She also says that poll workers seemed a little better trained this year in assisting her than the last time she voted.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.