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Blind for a Meal, or a Vote--new insights for pollworkers and policy makers

Imagine eating in utter blackness. When pouring water, how do you know when the cup is almost full? The experience is exciting--and challenging. What if poll workers experienced the disabilities of their voters--and had new respect as voters came in. The idea
Disabilities are one thing to observe--a whole other thing to experience. And when you experience them, something changes. You can't approach them the same way anymore. What if pollworkers and policy makers experienced a meal in the dark? Or voted in the dark? Their approach to helping voters might be radically different coming out.

My experience
As a seeing person I never wondered about how reach across the table for your glass without putting your hand through your friend's wine glass... and getting wine all over them. Until I was eating a meal in the pitch black that is. Then I DID wonder, and thought of all the other million tasks that I suddenly was not sure about.  How do you know where the fish is on your plate? How do you know how far to scoot in? And I was just sitting down!

We were eating in a specially light-sealed room, with normal menus (which you picked before entering the darkness) or "surprise" menus where you did not know what you were eating and you had to guess as you tasted it in the blackness.  Our waiters however did not have any difficulty getting around. They were blind, and as they carried steaming plates between the crowded tables, rang bells on their wrists so they would know not to run into each other.  As they took our orders they also kindly answered all our questions about how to do things.

The opportunity
A huge part of the battle of making elections more accessible is making sure those in a position to make them accessible know why it is so important--and how hard it can be without accessibility. Nothing brings this home like experiencing it. What if we used the spaces these networks of "in the dark" restaurants normally use to stage a "dark voting" for policymakers, pollworkers and the public?  By changing perceptions we can change what people want to do to make our elections accessible.

You don't need to be a poll worker to do this!
Places you can go to dine in the dark:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d548Gqb4j7s
http://www.darkdining.com/index_main.php
http://www.nalagaat.org.il/blackout.php

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