[CapChapOhio] Disabilities Rights Ohio article on absentee voting

Sat Apr 14 18:09:53 UTC 2018

This is the article that has been written for the Advocacy Matters series
and appears on the Disability Rights Ohio website. 

She wanted to Cast Her Absentee Ballot Privately and Independently

By Stacy Brannan-Smith 

Shelbi Hindel has voted in every election since she turned 18. Because she
is blind, she needed help to read the ballot for many years, relying on
someone to read it aloud to her and trusting them to vote the way she wanted
to. Accessible voting machines with screen reading technology were helpful,
but getting to the polls can be difficult for her, especially since her
polling location was moved to a community center that is not within walking
distance or on a bus line. Those problems made absentee voting at home
really appealing, but Ohio's absentee voting process has been paper-based,
so she'd again have to find someone to read the ballot to her and mark it on
her behalf. She found it unacceptable that she had to give up her privacy.

"I don't want to trust someone to fill out an absentee ballot for me," she
says. "If you want to share that is your prerogative, but you shouldn't be
forced into sharing that with anyone."

So when the National Federation of the Blind approached Disability Rights
Ohio about filing a lawsuit to challenge the inaccessible absentee voting
process, she proudly became a named plaintiff in the suit.
<https://www.disabilityrightsohio.org/news/disability-rights-ohio-lawsuit-cl
aims-ohio-secretary-of-states-voting> Hindel v. Husted was filed in December
2015.

DRO and its co-counsel, Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, successfully pursued
the case through the United States District Court and the Court of Appeals
for the Sixth Circuit. Now, after more than two years,
<http://www.disabilityrightsohio.org/news/ohio-requires-accessible-absentee-
ballots-for-the-blind> Ohio is preparing to launchaccessible absentee ballot
marking tools in time for the November 6, 2018, General Election.
<https://www.sos.state.oh.us/globalassets/elections/directives/2018/dir2018-
03.pdf> In a directive issued in January, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted
told county boards of elections that they must select, test and implement
such a tool by September 1. Voters with print disabilities will be able to
request the digital absentee ballot, which will allow them to use screen
reading technology to read the ballot and mark it before printing it,
signing it and mailing it in. Shelbi is so excited for this new option that
will allow her to vote privately and independently like any other voter. She
hopes it will encourage more people with disabilities to cast a ballot.

"We have so much to be thankful for, and we should not take that for
granted," she says. "We should vote."

Reporter Rick Reitzel from NBC 4 in Columbus interviewed Shelbi and DRO
Attorney Jason Boylan about the case.
<http://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/blind-woman-helps-guide-successful-vot
ing-rights-lawsuit-against-the-state/1119261364> Watch and read that story
here.

Early Voting Has Begun for May 8 Primary

Voting in Ohio is underway for the May 8 Primary Election. Although the
accessible absentee ballot marking tool is not available yet, all Ohio
voters can  <https://www.sos.state.oh.us/publications/#abr> submit an
application for an absentee ballotby noon on Saturday, May 5.
<https://www.sos.state.oh.us/elections/voters/absentee-voting/#byMail>
Absentee ballots must be postmarked on or before Monday, May 7.
<https://www.sos.state.oh.us/elections/voters/voting-schedule/> Early,
in-person voting hours are also available weekdays through April and every
day May 1 through May 7. Check with your
<https://www.sos.state.oh.us/elections/elections-officials/county-boards-of-
elections-directory/> county board of elections to find your early,
in-person voting location.

If you have questions about voting or problems voting because of your
disability, contact DRO at  <tel:800-282-9181> 800-282-9181 and select
option 2 for intake. You can also find many voting resources on the
<http://www.disabilityrightsohio.org/voting> Voting page of our
<http://www.disabilityrightsohio.org/resource-center> Self-Advocacy Resource
Center.

 <http://www.disabilityrightsohio.org/news?topic=%23AdvocacyMatters>
#AdvocacyMatters 

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