A Towson man who has raised concerns about voting procedures for the blind since 1996 sued Baltimore County and state election officials yesterday, alleging that blind voters in the county have been systematically denied the right to a secret ballot.
The complaint, brought by William C. Poole Jr. and four other county residents with assistance from the American Civil Liberties Union, said election officials should implement immediately touch-screen voting machines that would allow visually impaired voters to cast a ballot without having to rely on poll workers for assistance.
The lawsuit was brought in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, where Poole also turned in November after county election officials had refused to let him vote using a Braille template he had created at his own expense.