Optical scan voting systems have huge advantages over e-voting systems in terms of security, reliability, and relative cost. Some have argued that the main disadvantage of optical scan systems has historically been in terms of accessibility for disabled voters.

A new generation of ballot marking devices now makes it practical for optical scan voting systems to be equally accessible as e-voting machines. Information about these ballot marking devices is listed below. For other information related to accessibility and election systems, see Voting Accessibility Resources: Improving Voting Systems for Disabled People.