JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Testimony begins Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by the local chapter of the American Federation of the People with Disabilities that claims Duval County's voting system violates the rights of the blind and physically impaired.

The suit claims that Duval County officials violated their rights by not purchasing touch-screen voting machines that would allow them to cast their ballot without assistance.

Prior to the 2000 election, Jacksonville replaced its decades-old punch-card voting system with one that uses optically scanned ballots. But the lawsuit says this technology denies disabled people their constitutional right to cast a secret ballot.

Last November, disabled voters protested at the polls.

"We have the right to have accessible voting machines that we can vote independently," Robert Jones (pictured, right) said at the time.

The lawsuit says the county should have bought touchscreen voting machines like these now used in Nassau County, which allow blind voters to hear their votes.

"The City Council and the supervisor of elections were shortsighted in the machines that they chose to purchase," disabled voter Dan O'Connor said.

After the suit was filed, Supervisor of Elections John Stafford told Channel 4 it would cost more than $1 million to put one touchscreen voting machine in each precinct, but said he was looking for ways to improve accessibility at the polls.

"I don't mind spending the money, if that's the answer," Stafford said.

Channel 4's Karen Guglielmoni said the federal trial on the lawsuit should last about a week. There's no word on when a ruling will be made.