When accessible voting isn’t accessible: A blind voter’s experience at the polls

Reading Time: 2 minutes Shortly before the election I wrote about the barriers to voting I face as someone who is blind. I described how, at almost 27 years old, I had never voted because I worried about a lack of privacy in the process. Traditional ways of voting would require me to get someone else’s help — whether checking boxes on a paper ballot or choosing a candidate on a screen. But while reporting the story, I learned about a machine called the Express Vote, which helps blind and low-vision voters mark ballots electronically, enlarge the print on the screen and use screen readers with headphones. I gave it a try on Election Day. Unfortunately, the machine didn’t work. Related Story Outreach, education key to voting accessibility, Wisconsin advocates say Wisconsin has “many excellent accessibility requirements” for voters with disabilities, but it’s challenging to make sure voters are aware of them and that they’re implemented correctly, said Lisa Hassenstab of Disability Rights Wisconsin. Here’s what happened and why it matters. Because this was my first time voting, I came prepared, bringing proper documentation. After registering, I asked poll workers for the Express Vote, and they led me over to it. I can only describe it as a large screen, a bit like a giant iPad, set up on a plastic table with a chair in front of it. A set of headphones was plugged into it, and when I put them on, I heard a voice repeating: “To begin accessible voting, press any key on the accessible voting console.” The trouble? There were no physical keys. Another piece of the machine was missing, too. After a while, we realized it wouldn’t work. So I filled out a traditional ballot with help from my mother, who accompanied me to the polls. The poll workers apologized profusely. I hold no ill will toward them. The equipment is not used often, and staff likely had limited, if any, training on how to operate it. But the situation highlights a key point from my original article: Although people with visual disabilities can privately cast their ballots in theory, election workers aren’t always properly equipped or trained to make that happen. Still, I’m glad I got to vote, and I think everyone involved learned from this situation. People with disabilities do have options, and that’s what matters most to me. Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup. Republish This Story Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. Close window Republish this article This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License . Scroll down to copy and paste the code of our article into your CMS. The codes for images, graphics and other embeddable elements may not transfer exactly as they appear on our site. *** Also, the code below will NOT copy the featured image on the page. You are welcome to download the main image as a separate element for publication with this story. *** You are welcome to republish our articles for free using the following ground rules. Credit should be given, in this format: “By Dee J. Hall, Wisconsin Watch” Editing material is prohibited, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and in-house style (for example, using “Waunakee, Wis.” instead of “Waunakee” or changing “yesterday” to “last week”) Other than minor cosmetic and font changes, you may not change the structural appearance or visual format of a story. If published online, you must include the links and link to wisconsinwatch.org If you share the story on social media, please mention @wisconsinwatch (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram), and ensure that the original featured image associated with the story is visible on the social media post. Don’t sell the story or any part of it — it may not be marketed as a product. Don’t extract, store or resell Wisconsin Watch content as a database. Don’t sell ads against the story. But you can publish it with pre-sold ads. Your website must include a prominent way to contact you. Additional elements that are packaged with our story must be labeled. Users can republish our photos, illustrations, graphics and multimedia elements ONLY with stories with which they originally appeared. You may not separate multimedia elements for standalone use. If we send you a request to change or remove Wisconsin Watch content from your site, you must agree to do so immediately. For questions regarding republishing rules please contact Jeff Bauer, digital editor and producer, at jbauer @wisconsinwatch.org When accessible voting isn’t accessible: A blind voter’s experience at the polls by Baylee Alger / Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Watch November 12, 2026 When accessible voting isn’t accessible: A blind voter’s experience at the polls

by Baylee Alger / Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Watch
November 12, 2026

Shortly before the election I wrote about the barriers to voting I face as someone who is blind. I described how, at almost 27 years old, I had never voted because I worried about a lack of privacy in the process. 

Traditional ways of voting would require me to get someone else’s help — whether checking boxes on a paper ballot or choosing a candidate on a screen. 

But while reporting the story, I learned about a machine called the Express Vote, which helps blind and low-vision voters mark ballots electronically, enlarge the print on the screen and use screen readers with headphones. 

I gave it a try on Election Day. Unfortunately, the machine didn’t work. 

Here’s what happened and why it matters. 

Because this was my first time voting, I came prepared, bringing proper documentation. After registering, I asked poll workers for the Express Vote, and they led me over to it. I can only describe it as a large screen, a bit like a giant iPad, set up on a plastic table with a chair in front of it. A set of headphones was plugged into it, and when I put them on, I heard a voice repeating: “To begin accessible voting, press any key on the accessible voting console.”

The trouble? There were no physical keys. Another piece of the machine was missing, too. 

After a while, we realized it wouldn’t work. So I filled out a traditional ballot with help from my mother, who accompanied me to the polls. 

The poll workers apologized profusely. 

I hold no ill will toward them. The equipment is not used often, and staff likely had limited, if any, training on how to operate it. 

But the situation highlights a key point from my original article: Although people with visual disabilities can privately cast their ballots in theory, election workers aren’t always properly equipped or trained to make that happen. 

Still, I’m glad I got to vote, and I think everyone involved learned from this situation. People with disabilities do have options, and that’s what matters most to me.

This article first appeared on Wisconsin Watch and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.