Worcester resident Nona Haroyan, who is blind and in her 50s, remembers a time when she couldn't vote on her own. For many years, Haroyan had to bring a family member or friend with her into the voting booth to help her fill out her ballot.
But now Haroyan can vote at home from her computer by herself. She is benefitting from a technology that was written into state law in 2022. Since Massachusetts made the switch, a dozen other states have started allowing voters with disabilities to submit their ballot online.
"We really are the gold standard in the country in terms of accessible voting. Other states look at us and say, 'Wow, you have all of the accessible options,'" Haroyan said.
While the option is still not widely used in Massachusetts, blind voters tell GBH News that the service is welcome. The option comes as voting access is being debated at the federal level, as President Donald Trump has tried to restrict mail-in voting, forcing the Supreme Court to weigh in ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
"It's just really seamless and easy to do," Haroyan said. "It's just another way we can vote privately and independently."
A win for town clerks
Massachusetts' shift was shaped by litigation and legislation. The state was sued by the Disability Law Center, Boston Center for Independent Living and Bay State Council of the Blind in 2020, when the pandemic made voting difficult for people with disabilities. The electronic option became permanent with the VOTES Act passed by the Legislature in 2022.
Voters across the state can request the accessible option through the secretary of state's office. They then get an email from their local clerk with a link that brings them to an online portal and a password is sent in a separate email. They can use their computer or phone's screen reader to have the ballot read aloud, fill it out and hit submit — all electronically.
"Because of the work that we did along with our partners, Massachusetts was the first to have a fully accessible system with electronic return," said Tatum Pritchard, legal director of the Disability Law Center.
The secretary of state's office said it does not collect official data on how many people have used the new option statewide, but local officials say there is room for improvement on building awareness. For example, according to clerks and election officials, 10 people have applied in Worcester, six in Springfield, nine in Cambridge and one in Lowell.
Still, Worcester City Clerk Niko Vangjeli told GBH News the new electronic system has been a "game changer" for election administration. The portal has been a win-win for both voters and administrators.
"The accessibility part is amazing, but also the administrative part is also amazing because it's saved us a lot of hours of not only mailing the ballots or emailing the ballots, but also processing the ballots to be counted," he said.
The online portal was created by Democracy Live, a Washington-based voting technology company. The portal is also how overseas military members vote.
"Using the same core technology, the portal, whether you are deployed military, if you're a scientist in Antarctica, or if you're domestically a voter who can't see the ballot or hold the pen due to a disability, that's what the portal has been designed to do," said Bryan Finney, chief executive of Democracy Live.
Finney praised Massachusetts for modeling accessibility in elections.
"They [Massachusetts] are so well respected around the country as the pioneer and leader in accessibility, whether it's in the polling place or the portal," he said. "They have led the country in extending access to a private and independent and secure ballot for all voters."
Aging machines
Voters with disabilities can still choose to vote in person at the polls. Every polling station in Massachusetts is required to have an Automark machine, which allows a voter to insert a paper ballot, and the machine reads the ballot out loud through headphones. The voter uses a control pad to move around the ballot and mark their vote, and then prints the ballot to give to the poll worker.
The machines benefit not only blind voters, but people who have limited dexterity, people with dyslexia who prefer to have the ballot read aloud, or anyone who can't fill out a paper ballot by themselves like people with Parkinson's or hand tremors.
The machines were rolled out following the passage of the federal Help America Votes Act in 2002. Before, blind voters had to get help from a friend or ask a poll worker to help them — giving up their privacy.
For many voters, the Automark was a major milestone.
"When I sat down at the Automark for the first time, maybe 2006, 2007, I had this unbelievable feeling of power over my own vote," said Myra Ross, a blind voter from Amherst. "For the first time, in my 50s, I was able to vote on my own."
But the Automark machines used across Massachusetts are aging and don't always function as smoothly as they should. Blind voters told GBH News that using an Automark machine can be hit-or-miss — poll workers don't always know how to use them, and sometimes they are still in storage or not plugged in. Haroyan said she once had to wait two hours for an ink cartridge when the Automark machine couldn't print her ballot.
"AutoMarks that we currently have, they were bought back in 2000," said Vangjeli, the Worcester city clerk. "That's how old they are. So I think there is definitely time for a change."
Massachusetts is in the process of replacing the aging machines, with input from blind voters. In recent months the secretary of the commonwealth's office has hosted vendor fairs throughout the state where disabled voters could try out new machines.
"These vendor fairs are just the first step in the process to replace our existing accessible voting equipment," said a spokesperson from the office.
Aging machines aren't the only challenge. Pritchard says the Disability Law Center regularly hears about issues like not having enough handicapped parking and a lack of accessible entrances to polling places. They are advocating for a law that would require the secretary of the commonwealth to regularly monitor polling places for physical inaccessibility.
"People experience barriers all of the time based on their disabilities related to physical accessibility of the spaces," Pritchard said.
Other states look to Massachusetts
Since Massachusetts, 13 states now allow voters with disabilities to submit their ballot online in most cases, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. They are a range of "red" and "blue" states like Utah and West Virginia, as well as Rhode Island and Hawaii.
Several other states are pushing to follow Massachusetts' lead, including Iowa, where there's a bill to set up a pilot program.
Lori Trujillo-Roush, state president for the Iowa Council of the United Blind, said many people don't know that blind voters in the state still need someone to help them fill out their ballot.
"They're really surprised when they find out, and they're very supportive of it. And so I think it's a matter of educating," she said.
In New York, voters have an electronic option to fill out their ballot, a result of a lawsuit against the New York State Board of Elections. But unlike in Massachusetts, they can't submit their ballot online: They must print, sign and mail the ballot back, undermining the voters' privacy and independence, said Martin Cahill, legislative chair at American Council of the Blind of New York.
"While it was great to get them electronically, the key step in getting them back was not there. That technology does exist," he said.
Copyright 2026 GBH News Boston