DETROIT - The breakdown:

Blind and disabled Michigan voters report that Voter Assist Terminals (VATs) often fail, have low audio, or lack headphones.

These problems can turn a normally quick voting process into hours of troubleshooting, discouraging independent participation.

Advocates Stephen Handschu and Richard Clay say malfunctioning machines violate their civil rights and prevent private, independent voting.

The advocates are pressing Detroit officials and clerks to fix the equipment before the upcoming election, and City Council members have pledged to address the concerns.

Stephen Handschu has been blind since birth. He's able to see 3 percent of what a fully sighted person can.

He's been fighting for years for people with disabilities to be able to vote independently since he was a teenager.

 There are people out there trying to vote for candidates of every party who are blind, or otherwise disabled, who are being denied the opportunity to vote independently,  Handschu, 79, said on Friday.

He's referring to specialized voting machines called Voter Assist Terminals, or VAT machines, meant to help people with physical disabilities vote independently. They are used at polling locations across Michigan.

However, the machines are rife with issues. They reportedly don't power up, or the audio is too low.

Plus, not all terminals have headphones available. The technical issues turn voting, which is often done within minutes for able-bodied people, into an hours-long ordeal that often makes people want to give up.

 You should be able to use those machines,  Handschu said.  One year, my daughter and I sat there for six hours trying to get the machine to work and she finally assisted me. 

 If I don't get to do this independently, it is a failure… 

Richard Clay is the president of the Detroit Advocates of the Blind. He arrived being driven by his father, Richard Clay Sr., and walked up with a determined confidence.

Like Stephen, he uses a long white cane when he walks. The word both men used repeatedly was  independence. 

 They should be working, and I should be able to vote in

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