The National Federation of the Blind announced on October 21 that it plans to launch Project VIP (Voting with Independence and Privacy). The new program will aid voters who are blind with a toll-free hotline which voters can call if they have trouble voting on their own and in private. 

According to the NFB, it will have “voting specialists on call to provide support to blind voters who call from their polling locations and to assist in troubleshooting problems with nonvisual voting technology.” If a voting problem cannot be solved, the NFB assures Americans that the voting specialists will record location information so that local authorities can follow up on the situation.

Through these first-time efforts, the NFB hopes to encourage and enable people to cast their votes on November 4. Dr. Marc Maurer, NFB president, calls voting a “historic and invaluable right,” and says that “the 2008 presidential election is the first election in which blind Americans are guaranteed the right to cast their vote for president independently and privately.”

Project VIP will be available to anyone in the United States. Voters encountering difficulties at polling locations should immediately call 877-632-1940 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (EST).

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