David Faucheux, 51, of Lafayette, said he feels “invisible” to Louisiana politicians. (Photo courtesy of David Faucheux)

PHOENIX – David Faucheux was born with vision problems that worsened as he got older. He is now completely blind.

As a visually impaired voter in Louisiana, he is supposed to receive extra time and assistance at the polls. He said he generally does not receive this help, but a June law allowing voters with disabilities to vote absentee via email aims to make it easier to vote.

“I don’t feel that my vote really will change anything for blind people,” he said. “(People with disabilities are) such a small part of the entire population that I think some people just aren’t aware. You always have to be prepared to educate (poll workers) every time you go.”

Faucheux said he usually only votes in national elections, estimating he’s voted seven times.

“I feel invisible to Louisiana politicians, so I don’t try that hard anymore to vote local,” said Faucheux, a 51-year-old from Lafayette, Louisiana, with a master’s degree in library and information science.

When he has voted, he has taken friends with him to help.

In Louisiana, voters with visual impairments are allowed to bring someone to the polls to assist them, according to Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler. This person can be anyone but a candidate, the voter’s employer, the voter’s union agent, a commissioner-in-charge or a staff member for a state residential facility where the voter lives.

When Faucheux brings a friend to the polls, the commissioner writes down their names in a register, and the friend signs his or her name.

Faucheux follows politics, so he’ll usually tells the person helping him what to mark rather than having the ballot read to him.

The pair is supposed to go to the front of the line to give the visually impaired voter extra time to cast a ballot.

But Faucheux said he’s never done that, and he actually felt rushed while voting.

“I had to hurry up one time because they said I was taking too long with my helper,” he said. “Good luck trying to educate people down here.”

According to a Rice University study, it took visually impaired voters six times longer than sighted voters to complete an identical ballot, and 22.6 percent of visually impaired voters feel time pressure caused them to rush and make mistakes.

The same study, which surveyed more than 200 legally blind voters, said 92.2 percent of visually impaired voters receive assistance voting, including from family members, poll workers and friends.

“They don’t like you to stay long,” he said. “Legally, I’m supposed to have more time, but I don’t think everybody who runs the polls down here knows that.”

And because most of Faucheux’s friends in his apartment complex died or moved away, he said he doesn’t vote now because he doesn’t have anyone to take him.

A series of laws and regulations have tried to make voting more accessible.

Under the Help America Vote Act of 2002, all polling places are supposed to be accessible, private and independent to all voters.

Since fall 2006, all Louisiana voters are supposed to have access to an audio voting keypad, according to the Louisiana secretary of state. But Faucheux said his polling location in Lafayette doesn’t have an audio ballot option.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards signed House Bill 614 into law in June, allowing voters with disabilities to vote using email absentee ballots. Elections officials send voters with disabilities, including those with visual impairments, a ballot via a secure email. They fill it out using specialized software on their computer, print it out and return it via mail, fax or in person.

Rep. Helena Moreno, D-New Orleans, introduced the bill. The law should be in place for the Nov. 8 general election.

Faucheux said he hadn’t heard of the new legislation, but “it would make it easier and more private to vote.”

He said because he will not be able to get a ride to the polls, Faucheux will most likely vote absentee this November.

This story was informed by a source in the Public Insight Network. Share your voting experience here.

Republican presidential presumptive nominee Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Columbus, Ohio, on March 1. Trump reached the majority number of 1,237 GOP delegates in May, securing his position as the Republican candidate, but he will not officially become the nominee until he accepts the nomination at the Republican National Convention in July. (Photo by Emily Mills/News21)

CLEVELAND – The city of Cleveland is gearing up for the Republican National Convention in July amid concerns from police departments, police unions and corporations that the Northeast Ohio city is not prepared for potential unrest that may accompany the event.

The Cleveland Police Department will help provide security for the convention. The department is organizing a police force of 5,000 officers to assist with security: 1,200 from the city and the remaining from departments across the state and country.

The Greensboro Police Department in North Carolina committed in October to sending 50 officers to the convention but pulled out of the agreement in May, citing concerns over staffing and logistics, including where the officers would be assigned.

“In recently weeks, I have spoken with police administrators who have experience in planning for an event of this magnitude, and they express a lack of confidence in the city of Cleveland and their preparedness for the RNC,” Greensboro Deputy Chief of Police Brian James wrote in a letter to the Cleveland Police Department.

Corporations – including Ford Motor Co., Wells Fargo & Co., UPS Inc., Motorola Solutions Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Walgreens Boots Alliance – have opted out of sponsoring the convention, according to an article in Bloomberg.

And Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, said he spoke with Cleveland police officers and community members who expressed concern over a lack of safety equipment, training and orders for assignments during the convention.

Loomis said he believes there will be injuries at the event because the city is not prepared.

However, Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said in a news conference the city is prepared, and there are enough officers available to safely patrol the convention.

Republicans will hold the convention in the lakeside city of about 390,000 from July 18-21 at Quicken Loans Arena. It is classified a National Special Security Event, meaning the Secret Service is the lead agency in developing a security plan for the convention, said Justin Giorgio, a press assistant on the Committee on Arrangements for the convention.

“The Secret Service and their partners are developing a robust plan to keep all 4,372 delegates and alternates, 15,000 media and 50,000 guests safe,” he said.

After a satirical petition calling for the open carry of firearms at the convention gained media attention in May, the Secret Service reaffirmed its weapons policy for the convention.

Because Ohio is an open carry state, anyone who legally owns a gun can carry one in public, and Cleveland is not able to impede on the state’s law.

To conceal a weapon, gun owners need a concealed carry license.

The city controls the “event zone,” which makes up the downtown area, and it can only ban weapons like knives and swords.

However, guns will not be allowed inside the convention or the “secure zone,” a yet-unannounced perimeter regulated by the Secret Service encompassing the arena and surrounding areas.

Only law enforcement personnel can carry firearms in the “secure zone,” Secret Service spokesman Robert Hoback said in a statement.

Giorgio said the convention will defer to the Secret Service’s judgement on safety and security issues.

In a city scarred by controversial police shootings and simmering racial tensions, protests are expected from the Ohio NAACP, among other groups, including the Black Lives Matter movement.

Groups filing protest permits with the city include Stand Together Against Trump, Organize Ohio and the People’s Fightback Center/March Against Racism.

The Cleveland Police Department received $50 million in federal grants in December. The city used $20 million to purchase more than 2,000 riot-control gear sets, including riot-control suits and collapsible batons.

However, Cleveland Police Deputy Chief Ed Tomba said in a news conference officers will not wear this gear unless it becomes necessary to control crowds.

Tomba said the remaining $30 million grant funding is expected to go toward personnel expenses.

In addition to the security concerns, the city is also facing financial issues.

The city still has about $6.5 million left to raise before the convention starts, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported. The Cleveland 2016 Host Committee has raised $57.5 million of the city’s $64 million goal.

Cleveland has previously hosted the Republican convention twice, in 1924 and 1936.

Emily Mills is a David Dix fellow. Follow her on Twitter @EmilyMills818.