In 2012, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), in partnership with the Georgia Tech Research Institute and the Operation BRAVO Foundation, released a series of reports that identified the voting needs of recently injured military personnel and recommended practical and efficient ways to improve voting technologies and election administration practices to assist them in voting.
The project summary includes a table of how disabilities common among veterans can affect the ability to vote.
The main challenges include:
- Inaccessible polling places
- Ballot design
- Voting technologies
They recommend that the system itself must be flexible enough for use in a variety of ways. This will require portability, flexible mounting and options for controls. The ballot interface should be designed for a variety of disabilities by incorporating the following features:
- Sparce, consistent layout
- Readable text
- Simple, linear presentation
- Flexible controls
- Context-sensitive help
- Voice output
- Summary review page
- Save and resume
They also recommend policy and procedural changes to meet the needs of this audience:
- Coordinate voting assistance services with VA facilities
- Make accessible voting information available
- Streamline the process for obtaining absentee ballots
- Relax local ballot design requirements
- Make ballot data available in electronic format
- Pursue innovative technology