In support of the State of Oregon's ongoing commitment to making it easier for voters to cast their ballots, OakTree Digital's Alternate Format and Large Format Ballots will be used for the upcoming May 18th Primary Election.
The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 included provisions to ensure that voters with disabilities are provided the opportunity to vote privately and independently and have equal access to the process.
OakTree's Alternate Format Ballot is an HTML ballot that works alongside Oregon’s vote by mail process to enable individuals with disabilities, including non-visual accessibility and visually impaired to vote in much the same manner as all Oregon Voters: independently and privately from home, on an assistive computer in the election offices or another place of the voters’ choosing.
OakTree Digital’s AFB application converts election data from HP’s Oregon Centralized Voter Registration (OCVR) system into a W3C compliant HTML coded ballot. The ballot works with several assistive devices as well as Ai Squared's ZoomText product. The AFB was first used for the 2008 May Oregon Primary..
The Large Print Ballot follows the same data path but produces 11" x 17" or 8.5" x 14" with specialized 18 point typeface ballots in PDF format. These are mailed to voters who have requested large print format to assist them in voting independently. The ballots are folded and submitted in the secrecy envelops like any other ballot.
OakTree Digital is marketing the AFB/LPB products to other states looking to meet the spirit of the HAVA requirements. More details see OakTree Digital AFB Product Brief.