We will use this page to update you on political happenings of interest. The topics we will cover are of particular interest to visually impaired students, but they are also important to anyone concerned with civil rights. Of course, this is a very difficult time for the United States because of the lagging economy and the aftermath of war, but even as budgets are being slashed at both the state and Federal levels, we think you will agree that the issues on this page are important enough to warrant some attention.
One of the cornerstones of our American democracy is the idea that every adult citizen in good standing should have a private opportunity to cast a secret ballot vote. Unfortunately, most visually impaired citizens do not yet have access to this basic right. In Massachusetts, visually impaired voters can go to the polling station on Election Day and have a stranger complete their ballots for them, or they can ask a friend or family member to go to the polls with them or help them complete an absentee voter form. Each election year, there are rumors that braille ballot overlays may be available, but each time they turn out not to be available or they simply don't work very well. If we in MAVIS ever want to achieve any political change, we must first work to get ourselves the right to vote using a secret and independently verifiable ballot, just like every other American voter. Our parent organization, the American Council of the Blind has produced a document discussing why accessible voting is needed, and what we can do to guarantee ourselves this most fundamental of American rights. Click here to read the Accessible Voting Handbook.
Another basic building block of our society is our extensive educational system, offering the promise of self-improvement and social advancement to everyone. Visually impaired people often get left behind and held back, however, because of the lack of accessible textbooks and other educational materials. Last year, a group of blindness organizations succeeded in getting legislation introduced in Congress that would have created a national database of electronic files of K-12 textbooks, thus drastically reducing the amount of time and effort schools would have to put in to obtain particular books in accessible format. The proposed legislation died in committee in 2002, but we are hopeful that it will be reintroduced this year. If it is, we will link to it from this page. If you would like to read about making documents accessible click here for the American Council of the Blind's Accessible Format Handbook.
Money is another extremely important tool in today's society, whether we like
it or not, and in this area, blind people face inaccessibility in the form of
paper currency that is not distinguishable by touch. While it is true that most
visually impaired people have developed systems enabling them to keep track of
their money, we still have no idea what denomination we have been given until
someone tells us the first time. This means that every time we go to a store and
get change back, we are at the mercy of the person giving us the change. If the
cashier is dishonest, we will not even know we have been robbed until we get
home! While it is true that the great majority of people are good and honest,
and as a result, this does not happen very often, even letting it happen once is
too much--especially since more than 100 countries around the world already have
accessible paper money!
The American Council of the Blind has filed suit
against the United States in order to bring about accessible paper money, but
the Bush administration has decided to fight the suit on the grounds that it
would cost too much to make paper money accessible. MAVIS supports
OurMoneyToo.org,
a volunteer group working to make U.S. paper money accessible
by feel.
Pedestrian safety is important to everyone, but visually impaired college
students have a particular interest in it because they often have to travel in
new cities. Audible traffic signals can make a great difference for visually
impaired people at complicated intersections (particularly at rotaries).
Although many of us do recieve comprehensive mobility training that enables us
to travel safely and independantly in most situations, we believe we should have
access to the same pedestrian safety devices that our sighted peers take for
granted.
You may be aware that the National Federation of the Blind opposes
audible traffic signals. However, they certainly do not speak for all blind
people. We are not asking for preferential treatment; we just want the same
access to walk lights as our sighted peers. Several countries, most notably
Japan and Australia, are already working on ambitious projects to make their
cities safer for visually impaired people. If you would like to read more about
accessible traffic signals you can click here for information
produced by the American Council of the Blind.
If you're interested in seeing what we're doing about these issues, visit our business page.
If you'd like to talk about some of these issues, visit our conference call page.
If you have any questions about these issues, please contact us.
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