Kristen Cox and David Paterson, both legally blind, are running for the post of lieutenant governor in Maryland and New York this year. Paterson, a minority leader in the New York Senate, is the choice of Democrats and Cox has the support of the Republicans.

Cox said she knows her blindness will be an issue in the minds of voters. “They are curious about it. They have questions about it, and that's fair,” she said. “I hope ultimately in the election that blindness becomes a non-issue.”

Advocates for people with disabilities see it as a positive sign. “Clearly, just like anybody else who represents an ethnic minority, if we succeed people will say 'That's great’. That's an example of blind people being able to do anything,” Mark Richert, director of public policy for the American Foundation for the Blind.

Paterson has been credited with helping Democrats gain seats in the state Senate. He lost most of his sight at age of three months when an infection damaged his optic nerve. Paterson can see shapes and is able to read at close distances for short periods.

Cox has worked on disability issues as a federal and state official and with the National Federation of the Blind. Cox recognises light and dark but must read Braille or use a computer that converts print into spoken words.