Visually Handicapped Seniors'Voting Participation Topped Those of Age 18-30 Voters by Wide Margin

NAVH Survey Indicates high level of voting by trained visually handicapped seniors. More than 90% of those whose ages averaged 78 plus took part in presidental election.

New York, NY (PRWEB) November 15, 2004 -- Young voters ages 18-29, whose voting participation increased to 52 percent this year, have nothing on a sampling of visually impaired older adults. The seniors, whose average age is 78, were surveyed by the National Association for Visually Handicapped (NAVH) at a bi-weekly seminar on coping with diminished sight.

The visually handicapped seniors' record of participation in presidential elections topped the 90 percent mark, despite the fact that one-third said visual problems made it more difficult to vote and 41 percent needed assistance in the voting booth.

No assistance was requested by 55 percent and only 4 percent said vision problems prevented their voting.

Besides easily surpassing the voting record of young voters, the NAVH group also topped the national voting mark of those age 65-plus; at 67 percent, the highest voting participation rate among all age groups, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The voting record of partially seeing individuals who have learned to use their remaining sight should encourage the millions of others with low vision," said Dr. Lorraine Marchi, NAVH founder and chief executive officer. With proper training and support, the 'hard of seeing can lead independent, productive lives."

NAVH, a non-profit agency founded in 1954, is the only national voluntary health care organization solely devoted to serving the 20 million Americans, who, while not totally blind, have serious eye diseases that could seriously limit their vision. NAVH provides education, counseling, vision aids, a free-by-mail large print loan library, and hope to all partially seeing people and their families, regardless of age. The agency can be reached at 212-889-3141 or through its website, www.navh.org.

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