Section 19225.

The Legislature finds and declares as follows:

(a) Microchip and digital technologies are increasingly changing the way Americans vote.

(b) State and political subdivisions are replacing antiquated voting methods and machines with computer and electronic-based voting systems, but nonvisual access, whether by speech, braille, or other appropriate means, is often overlooked in certifying and purchasing the latest voting technology.

(c) Voting technology and systems that allow the voter to access and select information solely through a visual means are a barrier to access by individuals who are blind or visually impaired, thereby discouraging them from exercising the right to vote, the most fundamental right of citizenship in a free and democratic society.

(d) Software and hardware adaptations have been created so that voters can interact with voting technology and systems through both visual and nonvisual means allowing blind and visually impaired people to cast a secret ballot and independently verify their vote.

(e) In promoting full participation in the electoral process, the goals of the state and its political subdivisions must recognize the incontrovertible right of all citizens regardless of blindness or visual impairment to vote.

(f) This right must include the opportunity for individuals who are blind or visually impaired to cast and verify their ballots independently.

(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 950, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2003.)