Miss-Delectable
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MySA.com: Metro | State
At Bexar County's main early voting site, deaf voters who have questions about how to properly fill out their ballots now can get fast answers from American Sign Language interpreters.
In this election, for the first time, the county has sign language interpreters available through a video monitor. In the past, if a deaf voter requested an interpreter, it could take hours for one to arrive at the polling site.
The service, considered a pilot project, is available only during early voting and only at the Bexar County Justice Center. If all goes well, elections officials hope to expand it for the next election.
"This was a project that we've loved working on," Jacque Callanen, the county's elections administrator, said during a Saturday news conference at the Justice Center. "We believe in it."
Other participants included former home builder Gordon Hartman, whose charitable foundation picked up most of the tab for the pilot program, and representatives from Deaf Link, a San Antonio-based company that provides the remote video interpretation services.
"When we found out that people who were deaf and hard of hearing were not being given proper access to voting, we felt like we needed to get involved," Hartman said.
Several members of the deaf community were present, and a woman translated the news conference into American Sign Language for them.
"This is going to open doors for the deaf," said Michael Houston, Deaf Link's national liaison, who became hearing impaired after a childhood injury.
With its own syntax and sentence structure, American Sign Language is a completely separate language from English. Along with hand movements, it incorporates facial expressions and body postures.
For deaf people who first learned to communicate using American Sign Language, English is a second language. So, although some read English without difficulty, others have more limited skills.
Interpreters are available only to answer procedural questions about voting, such as where to put one's signature, Callanen said. The county would keep track of how many voters requested the interpreters, she said.
She was unaware of any specific instances in the past when a deaf voter had trouble at the polls, but she speculated that many might have used mail-in ballots to avoid problems.
After the news conference, Marc Rubin, 28, of Converse spoke in support of Deaf Link. Rubin was born deaf and later received a cochlear implant, an electronic device that can provide a sense of sound to the profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing.
Through a sign language interpreter, Rubin said he used Deaf Link while doing civilian work for the Army in Italy, and it worked well. "Using that service benefited me."
Donald Leavenworth, 40, of Live Oak also believes in the new service's potential.
"Deaf people can go and vote," Leavenworth, who has been deaf since birth, said through an interpreter. "And Deaf Link helps."
Early voting runs through Friday at the Justice Center and several other locations. Hours are from noon to 6 p.m. today and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day after.
At Bexar County's main early voting site, deaf voters who have questions about how to properly fill out their ballots now can get fast answers from American Sign Language interpreters.
In this election, for the first time, the county has sign language interpreters available through a video monitor. In the past, if a deaf voter requested an interpreter, it could take hours for one to arrive at the polling site.
The service, considered a pilot project, is available only during early voting and only at the Bexar County Justice Center. If all goes well, elections officials hope to expand it for the next election.
"This was a project that we've loved working on," Jacque Callanen, the county's elections administrator, said during a Saturday news conference at the Justice Center. "We believe in it."
Other participants included former home builder Gordon Hartman, whose charitable foundation picked up most of the tab for the pilot program, and representatives from Deaf Link, a San Antonio-based company that provides the remote video interpretation services.
"When we found out that people who were deaf and hard of hearing were not being given proper access to voting, we felt like we needed to get involved," Hartman said.
Several members of the deaf community were present, and a woman translated the news conference into American Sign Language for them.
"This is going to open doors for the deaf," said Michael Houston, Deaf Link's national liaison, who became hearing impaired after a childhood injury.
With its own syntax and sentence structure, American Sign Language is a completely separate language from English. Along with hand movements, it incorporates facial expressions and body postures.
For deaf people who first learned to communicate using American Sign Language, English is a second language. So, although some read English without difficulty, others have more limited skills.
Interpreters are available only to answer procedural questions about voting, such as where to put one's signature, Callanen said. The county would keep track of how many voters requested the interpreters, she said.
She was unaware of any specific instances in the past when a deaf voter had trouble at the polls, but she speculated that many might have used mail-in ballots to avoid problems.
After the news conference, Marc Rubin, 28, of Converse spoke in support of Deaf Link. Rubin was born deaf and later received a cochlear implant, an electronic device that can provide a sense of sound to the profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing.
Through a sign language interpreter, Rubin said he used Deaf Link while doing civilian work for the Army in Italy, and it worked well. "Using that service benefited me."
Donald Leavenworth, 40, of Live Oak also believes in the new service's potential.
"Deaf people can go and vote," Leavenworth, who has been deaf since birth, said through an interpreter. "And Deaf Link helps."
Early voting runs through Friday at the Justice Center and several other locations. Hours are from noon to 6 p.m. today and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day after.
