October 27, 2008
Tempe, AZ
Our mailboxes are overflowing with glossy postcards endorsing this candidate and that ballot proposition. Political signs clutter every street corner.
But for Arizonans with visual disabilities printed marketing helps little, if at all.
In this election year more than 600,000 Arizonans must find other ways to learn about the candidates and ballot initiatives.
Sun Sounds of Arizona, a state-wide radio reading and information access service, offers several ways for visually impaired persons (VIPs) to make informed voting decisions.
Since 2002 the Sun Sounds Voter Information Project (VIP) has partnered with the AZ Citizens Clean Elections Commission to provide access to printed state election information. Included in the Statewide Legislative Candidate Statements booklet, sent to every registered voter well in advance of the election, is a toll-free number and website
http://sunsounds.org/sundial/vip where voters can hear the information contained in the booklet.
During election season dialing 888-233-2922 calls Sun Sounds of Arizona’s telephone access system, Sun Dial. Once connected, Sun Sounds of Arizona listeners can surf the AZ Secretary of State’s website,
www.azsos.gov using only their touch-tone phone. Text-to-speech software reads the published candidate statements and the ballot proposition guide aloud.
Throughout election season Sun Sounds broadcasts public service announcements so that listeners know when and how to register to vote, how to apply for early ballots, how to receive ballots in alternative formats (audio cassette, CD, Braille and large print), and where to go for more information about accessible voting.
On
Friday, Oct. 31 at 2pm Sun Sounds will broadcast an interview with Kris Waite, Assistant Elections Director from Secretary of State Jan Brewer’s office, discussing the optical scan and touch screen voting machines that voters will find at their polling locations. This program will be rebroadcast on
Sunday, Nov. 2 at 11:30, and Monday, Nov. 3, 11am.
For more information about how Sun Sounds of Arizona helps visually impaired voters make informed decisions, and the opportunity to interview visually impaired voters who use accessible ballot options, call Marketing Coordinator Heidi Capriotti.
