Clemson University research team to lead accessible voting technology project

CLEMSON, SC – June 12, 2011 – A Clemson University research team hasbeen chosen by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to lead anational effort to make voting systems more accessible.

JuanGilbert, a professor and chairman of the Human-Centered ComputingDivision in Clemson’s School of Computing, will direct a three-year,$4.5 million project funded by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC)to increase the accessibility of new, existing and emergingtechnological solutions in the design of voting systems.

Asleader of the project, Gilbert will coordinate commission research andtraining efforts nationally, as well as conduct research on votingtechnology in his Clemson lab.

Dr. Gilbert has a proven trackrecord in the development of accessible computing solutions,particularly in voting technology, said Esin Gulari, dean of Clemson’sCollege of Engineering and Science. This project fits quite naturallyinto the work that the Human-Centered Computing Division is doing, andit will help advance that research in ways that would be much moredifficult to do otherwise.

Gilbert is the developer of PrimeIII, an electronic voting system that combines the accessibilityafforded by computer technology with old-fashioned simplicity,including a paper ballot for backup and verification.

Clemson’s selection by the EAC is a strong vote of confidence in Dr.Gilbert’s research, and an important step forward in research at theuniversity, said Gerald Sonnenfeld, vice president for research atClemson. Federal funding for research is a critical component ofuniversity inquiry. We’re proud Dr. Gilbert has been selected to leadthis project and very excited by the possibilities this portends forthe future.

Prime III uses a universal design to make voting more accessible, not only for the disabled, but for anyone.

By universal design, we mean an approach that makes it as usable aspossible by as many people as possible regardless of age, ability orsituation, Gilbert said. That’s how we approach election systems. Youdon’t have a disability machine, but one single voting machine.

Current law requires that voting precincts maintain voting machinesthat are accessible for the disabled, but some states have experiencedproblems maintaining multiple systems and training poll workers in theiruse, Gilbert said.

If we can consolidate into onetechnology, then the training process becomes easier and it’s moreconducive for everyone, he said.

The Election AssistanceCommission’s Accessible Voting Technology Initiative was begun tosupport research on transformative technologies and approaches to meetthe critical challenge of making voting more accessible to alleligible voters.

Gilbert’s project also addresses training and administration issues.

Our research team is extremely interdisciplinary. We have individualsfrom the social sciences, engineering and computing. We have experts inaccessibility. We also have experts who deal with administration:training election officials, training poll workers, Gilbert said.

So this project deals with technology, but it is broader than thetechnology. We want to be able to train election officials to use thebest technological solution and to find the processes for which thiskind of technology can be integrated within states, he said.

Gilbert’s Prime III software first was tested in controlled laboratorysettings and later in national academic and trade association elections.He now plans to take it to public elections, first at the municipallevel within the year, then in state and federal elections in 2012.

The software allows voters to cast ballots either by touch or by voice.

If you can’t see, can’t hear, can’t read or don’t have arms, you canvote privately and independently on the same machine as anyone else,Gilbert said. There’s no ambiguity. The ballot is easy to count, easyto verify and can be read by optical character recognition.

Prime III includes advances in four areas:

• Accessibility — Voters can choose to follow written or spokeninstructions; likewise, they can record their votes either by touching ascreen or speaking into a microphone.
• Security — The self-contained software for Prime III is run frombootable DVDs. It never is reached online or downloaded to a localcomputer. Voters confirm printed ballots before they are filed with theelectronic data so election officials can audit overall results from aprecinct.
• Usability ­— The software was developed through years of usabilitytesting using focus groups that included people with a variety ofphysical disabilities. That research will continue in larger publictests.
• Privacy ­— Even using the voice-activated ballot, voters don’t haveto divulge the names of the candidates they support. A series of voiceprompts leads voters to say words such as next or vote. Printedballots contain no identifying information; stickers bearingauthenticated serial numbers  are applied to each ballot to ensure thatonly properly cast ballots are retained.

U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Establishedby the Help America Vote Act of 2002, the Election AssistanceCommission is an independent, bipartisan commission charged withhelping states meet requirements of federal voting law. It setsguidelines, serves as a national clearinghouse of information onelection administration, accredits testing laboratories and certifiesvoting systems. It also collects information about electionadministration issues for Congress and election officials.