Essential, Yet Overlooked: Identity Verification Barriers for Blind and Low Vision People in Government Services
Ryan John Oommen, Tanusree Sharma
TLDR
Inaccessible identity verification systems for blind and low vision individuals in government services create systemic barriers, impacting access, security, and autonomy.
Key contributions
- Uncovered systemic accessibility breakdowns in digital and in-person identity verification for BLV users.
- Showed inaccessible workflows restructure how security is achieved for blind and low vision individuals.
- Identified how repeated demands, infrastructure, and policy exacerbate exclusion from essential services.
- Explored BLV users' complex perspectives on AI as both an accessibility aid and an identity fraud risk.
Why it matters
This paper critically highlights how current identity verification systems exclude blind and low vision individuals from essential government services. It provides crucial insights into systemic barriers, informing the design of more equitable and accessible verification processes.
Original Abstract
Identity verification is a critical gateway to accessing government services and public benefits, yet contemporary systems are typically designed around visual interaction, leaving blind and low vision (BLV) individuals disproportionately burdened. In this work, we examine how BLV users navigate identity verification in government services and how current designs shape their access, security, and autonomy. Through a mixed methods study combining analysis of 219 Reddit posts and semi-structured interviews with 16 BLV participants, we uncover systemic accessibility breakdowns across both digital and in person verification processes. Our findings show that inaccessible verification workflows do not merely inconvenience users, they restructure how security is achieved in practice. We also identify how repeated verification demands, inaccessible physical infrastructure, and policy changes exacerbate exclusion from essential services. At the same time, participants articulate complex perspectives on AI, viewing it as both a critical accessibility aid and a growing vector for identity fraud.
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