SACO — Between registering, locating the proper polling places and waiting in endless lines, the election process may seem complicated for some. But for those with developmental disabilities, it can be even more difficult.

At a voter education fair hosted by Living Innovations on Friday, those with such disabilities were given a crash course in the voting process, from registration to submitting their ballots.

“For some folks with intellectual disabilities, voting might be intimidating. We’re trying to make this very fun and casual,” said Rick Langley, deputy director of Disability Rights Maine, which partnered with Living Innovations to put on the event. “This project is about reaching out to people to encourage participation in voting.”

For 20 years, Living Innovations has worked with adults and children with developmental disabilities and autism to encourage them to be active members of their communities. The fair, said program Director Rebekah McIntyre, was a natural extension of that mission.

“We strongly believe in keeping people in the community, building on their strengths, giving them natural supports to live the fullest life they can,” McIntyre said. “Encouraging voting and civic engagement matches up perfectly with our values.”

There are 10 Living Innovations offices throughout Maine serving about 750 people. The Saco office alone handles about 150 people with developmental disabilities, and coordinates with other area behavioral health services.

The staff, known as direct support professionals, assist those with disabilities in many ways, from grocery shopping to relationship building and job placement. What sets Living Innovations apart from similar programs, said McIntyre, is its individualized support approach.

“We really strive to individualize services, not just offering options,” McIntyre said. “Our mission is to say, ‘What do you need?’”

Many with disabilities don’t realize they are allowed to vote, or have been turned away from the polls for various reasons, McIntyre said. The purpose of the fair, she said, is to help people realize they have the right to vote regardless of whatever disability they may have.

“A basic understanding of the voting process, and how the people we support as citizens can engage in that, is really the most basic piece of it,” McIntyre said.

Attendees were treated to a presentation on their rights as voters and provided tips on how and where to register and vote. Willing participants engaged in a round of political “Jeopardy!” and were later treated to lunch.

But arguably the most exciting part of the fair was the demonstration of the ExpressVote Accessible Voting System. It’s a machine used by polling locations throughout the state, and it’s designed to help those with developmental disabilities more easily cast their votes on election day.

According to the federal Help America Vote Act, which was signed into law in 2002, every voting place in the United States is required to have some sort of accessible voting system to those with disabilities, whether physical or cognitive.

The ExpressVote machine features touchscreen options for voters to easily select their choices. For those who have trouble hearing, the device has headphones that play voting options into listeners’ ears, and those who are vision-impaired have the option of using a remote control with Braille wording.

Voters who have fine motor impairment can use a “rocker panel” – a two-button control – to select “yes” or “no” options that toggle the on-screen choices.

When voters are done, the machine prints their ballots. To protect voters’ privacy, the machine does not store any information on its hard drive.

The machine allows people to feel comfortable in the voting booth, McIntyre said. Sometimes, she said, people with developmental disabilities are turned away from the polls because they either want someone to be with them, or don’t understand the process.

“It’s a sad reality: some people have gone to vote, and they’ve been turned away. The technology will allow people to be able to vote, with one person in the voting booth, and have privacy to make choices they want to make,” said McIntyre.

In scenarios such as those, Langley said DRM would intervene to enforce voters’ rights, but added that the new machines will give people with disabilities more autonomy in their voting choices.

John Monroe, a management analyst with the Secretary of State’s Office, said the touchscreen machine is more efficient than previously-used phone and fax machine methods. It also alleviates a disabled person’s possible stress about voting, he said.

“If (people) don’t have a disability themselves, they don’t realize the psychological aspect of it,” Monroe said. “We’re hoping through a combination of outreach that people will find (the machine) approachable, so psychological obstacles won’t be there anymore.”

McIntyre praised the machine for allowing people to be active citizens, and said spreading the word about it to as many people as possible before Nov. 8 is the purposed of events like the fair.

“If there’s something out there for people with disabilities to be able to vote when they want to vote, it’s important that as many people in the community know it’s there and how to access it,” she said.

— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or abennett@journaltribune.com.