Want to Vote? We Can Help!

Absentee voting for the 2025 City-School Election starts today. Things are rolling fast and steady in our office as we feverishly prepare not only for absentee voting, but for upcoming poll worker training, and of course Election Day.  

Two important things I wanted to touch on today are two things that don’t get a lot of publicity or awareness. These are two options that someone with physical challenges can take advantage of when it comes to voting.  

First, it is important to note that all our polling places go through an extensive compliance review to make sure they meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We complete this every other year (as required by law) along with sending out surveys to our polling places in between. So, let’s dig into other options and aids available to all voters, regardless of why assistance is needed.  

First is our FVT or Freedom Vote Tabulator. This is essentially a machine that will display a ballot on a large screen. The voter can make their selection on the touch screen and then a ballot is printed out to put in our scanner for counting votes. This machine also has a touchpad available for the visually impaired (yes, it has braille) and headphones The machine will read the ballot as well as the confirmed selections to the voter to ensure they have selected the candidate that they wanted.  This option is available to all voters at the polls and while absentee voting at the Courthouse. You simply need to let my staff or the poll workers know that you’d like to use it. This option is great for those who struggle to fill in the small ovals or are visually impaired for any reason.  

The second is curbside voting. This option is great for those who struggle to get in and out of vehicles. If you’re voting on Election Day, simply pull up to the polling place and call the number on the sign. That number rings through to our office and we will alert the poll workers that you are there to curbside vote. Another option would be to send a member of your party into the polling site to let the workers know. They will bring the iPad to retrieve your information and then return to the car after they have obtained the correct ballot. You will vote it and place it in a secrecy sleeve and return it to the workers who will then take it inside and place it into the ballot counting machine. It is important to note that curbside voting on Election Day will always have two workers always helping you to maintain secrecy and fairness.  

Curbside voting is available for absentee voting as well. In this case, we ask that you call our office ahead of time and let us know you are coming to curbside vote and ideally, let us know what time you will arrive and what kind of car you will be driving. We will bring a request form to you to complete and then return with the correct ballot once we have entered your information. You will vote the ballot and seal it in the appropriate and provided envelope, we will return the ballot into the courthouse and file it securely with the rest of the absentee ballots.  It’s that simple! 

We want to ensure that everyone who wants to vote, can, and we will do everything within our power and allowable by law to make sure that happens. As always, if you have questions about this or any other election process, do not hesitate to reach out.