Oregon uses iPad to cast votes on election day
Five Oregon counties rolled out iPads for disabled voters.
Angry Birds move aside, Oregon has a new use for the iPad: voting.
This election day, five counties in Oregon rolled out a new system for voting by using the iPad, the Associated Press reported. This is the latest attempt to help disabled voters cast ballots privately.
Not only are iPads revolutionizing the voting system in this Western state, county election workers are actually visiting the homes of disabled citizens with the tablet and a portable printer. With the light tap of a finger, voters can simply call up the ballot they want to place and tap the screen in order to choose their preferred candidate, without the help of an election worker, the AP reported. The ballot is then printed and put in an envelope to be signed and dropped in the mail or official ballot box.
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This portable system was chosen to help voters with limited mobility still be able to make their choice in private, PC World reported. Voters with poor vision can adjust the font size and color, CBS News reported.
"It's a lot simpler for me. I think it's a great setup they got," said Lewis Crews, 75, who suffers from severe arthritis, the AP reported.
Today’s election for Oregon constituents is an important one– it will decide who will replace U.S. Representative David Wu, who resigned due to a sex scandal.
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State election officials said iPads will be used again in the special general election in January and if it is successful, the service will be approved for the entire state, CBS News reported. It is believed Oregon is the first state to use the slim tablet to cast a vote.
Officials also decided to use iPads since other equipment used for helping disabled people vote is in poor condition, AP reported.
iPad’s creator, Apple, donated five of the tablets to the experiment and the state spent approximately $75,000 to develop voting software. Oregon would need at least 72 iPads, two per county, to make the program statewide, AP reported.