A tactile template can help a blind voter mark a paper ballot without another person making the mark. A voting machine presents a different obstacle: a voter unable to see the screen needs assistance to use it. Bulgaria’s election on 25 October has brought that gap back into view, alongside the question of ballot secrecy.
Blind ultramarathon runner Viktor Asenov plans to vote using a machine with a companion’s help. It is his personal preference, but the difficulty he describes reaches beyond one voter: assistance with recording a choice limits the independence of the person casting the ballot.
Asenov wants machines equipped with an audio function. Software could read the screen through headphones, much as accessibility tools already do on smartphones. The device itself could then provide guidance without requiring a voter to disclose a choice to a companion.
At its first election-day briefing, the Central Election Commission clarified that tactile templates are used in polling stations voting on paper. People whose health condition prevents them from voting independently in a station with a machine can use a companion. The distinction matters: providing templates does not automatically make every voting method accessible.
Asenov also raised a related concern beyond the polling station. He wants public funding for the entire process of training guide dogs, rather than reliance on sponsors and donations. His dog, Tadi, underwent extensive preparation before the pair began working together.
Both issues concern the practical means to act independently. On election day, that principle has a particularly direct meaning: being able to choose a candidate should also mean being able to record that choice without another person’s involvement.
