Richard Erickson, a resident of Burlington, Vermont, USA, is delighted. He is legally blind, but the next time he goes out to vote, he will not need to rely on a member of his family to read out the ballot paper to him. The Inspire Vote-by-Phone system will soon enable visually impaired people in Vermont, to vote using the keypad on a special telephone in the privacy of a voting booth.

The Vote-by-Phone system requires a phone line and telephone at each polling place and a central server to take the calls. A blind voter checks in at the polls and is escorted to the voting booth. The poll worker dials the central computer, punches in his or her identification number and the identification number for the local ballot, then hands the telephone to the voter and leaves the booth. The voter receives instructions and makes selections among candidates listed by name and party affiliation. Most choices are made by punching the number "5" in the centre of the telephone keypad. This key is often distinguishable from others by a raised bump.

The voter has many opportunities to verify the names of the candidates he or she has selected before punching a key that casts the ballot. The voter can even verify and scrap the ballot after casting it. A paper ballot is printed at the central server location and then scanned, and the voter may listen to selections marked on the paper ballot to double-check that they match their choice.

Secretary of State, Deborah Markowitz, has signed a four-year contract with I.V.S. of Louisville, Kentucky, to purchase the Inspire Vote-by-Phone system so that people with disabilities will be able to vote independently and privately in any polling place in Vermont.