2023 - Honorable Mention for Improving Accessibility for Voters with Disabilities

Over the past eight years, the El Paso County Elections Department (EPCED) has made improving the voting experience for the disability community a priority. The department covers an ADA section in its poll worker?training,?but?also trains their workers on how to offer the braille poll pad screen for the check-in device, specifically for voters with a visual impairment.?In collaboration with?El?Paso Council of the Blind and a local vendor, the final product was created and implemented in 2016 to serve all early voting and Election Day sites?in the county.?Since its inception, voters and poll workers have expressed appreciation for the efforts EPCED has made to make polling places and voting machines accessible during?each?election.?Currently,?El Paso is the only county in Texas that has created and implemented this one of a kind braille screen.?The idea to make the check-in process more accessible to visually impaired voters came from the Elections Administrator, Lisa Wise.