[Colorado-talk] New Law Enables Blind Voters to Independently and Privately Mark Printed Mail Ballots

Thu May 30 13:36:44 UTC 2019

I think it's safe to say that, for those of us who were able to attend
yesterday's bill signing, it was pretty exciting When the Governor
signed it and jpronounced that SB19-202 was now the law of Colorado!
Shout out to Jeanette Fortin and the contingent from Colorado Springs
who made the trip for the ceremony!

Dan

On 5/29/19, Amy Sabo via Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> hello kevan,
> thanks forposting this awesome press release about the assistance of
> having blind people in the state of Colorado be able to vote
> independtally with our computers. this is awesome news for all of us
> here in co and, also for the blind of the state! thanks again for
> posting this and, I will talk to you soon!
>
>
> sincerely,
> amy
>
> On 5/28/19, Kevan Worley via Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>>
>>
>>
>> Contact:               Scott C. LaBarre, President
>>
>> National Federation of the Blind of Colorado
>>
>> Cell: (303) 520-3584
>>
>> Email: slabarre at labarrelaw.com
>>
>>
>>
>> Dan Burke, Legislative Coordinator
>>
>> National Federation of the Blind of Colorado
>>
>> Cell: (406) 546-8546
>>
>>                 Email: dburke at cocenter.org
>>
>>
>>
>> New Law Enables Blind Voters
>>
>> to Independently and Privately Mark
>>
>> Printed Mail Ballots
>>
>>
>>
>> Denver (May. 28, 2019): Blind voters in Colorado will celebrate tomorrow
>> as
>> Governor Jared Polis signs Senate Bill 19-202, Voting Rights for Voters
>> with
>> Disabilities into law at 11 a.m. This historic legislation enables blind
>> voters and voters with other disabilities to receive and mark an
>> electronically delivered ballot using nonvisual access, low vision, or
>> other
>> assistive technology on a home computer or mobile device.
>>
>>
>>
>> Voters with disabilities will be able to request that their ballot be
>> delivered to them electronically. The ballot is marked using nonvisual
>> access, low vision, or other assistive technology, printed, and mailed in
>> or
>> deposited in the appropriate drop box.
>>
>>
>>
>> And Colorado voters with disabilities will have the confidence of casting
>> their votes using the same assistive technology they use every day to
>> read
>> e-mail, do their personal online banking or post on social media.  So, if
>> they are too busy to get to the polling center, or simply would prefer to
>> have the privacy and time to vote from home or elsewhere, they will now
>> be
>> able to do so without having to tell someone their votes and to trust
>> they
>> will be recorded accurately.
>>
>>
>>
>> Senators Jessie Danielson (D-Wheat Ridge) and Rachel Zenzinger (D-Arvada)
>> championed the bill in the Senate, and in the House, Representative Meg
>> Froelich (D-Greenwood Village) sponsored the legislation. Senate Bill
>> 19-202
>> received bipartisan support and passed both houses of the General
>> Assembly
>> without opposition.
>>
>>
>>
>> "We Salute Governor Polis, Senators Danielson and Rachel Zenzinger,
>> Representative Froelich, and the members of the General Assembly for
>> passing
>> this law and helping us secure our rightful place in our democracy," said
>> Scott LaBarre, President of the National Federation of the Blind of
>> Colorado.
>>
>>
>>
>> "When Colorado went to a mail ballot in 2013, the technology to make it
>> accessible to people with disabilities simply didn't exist," said Curtis
>> Chong, a retired blind Assistive Technology manager who helped pass a
>> similar law in New Mexico last year before moving to Aurora. "Now that
>> this
>> bill is law, people with disabilities in Colorado will have the same
>> access
>> to the mail ballot as everybody else. They can now mark the ballot on
>> their
>> own without needing to obtain help from anyone."
>>
>>
>>
>> Since 2013, the only way for blind voters in Colorado to cast a ballot
>> privately and independently was to go to a polling and voting center.
>> There, they could use electronic voting machines that read the ballot
>> choices while they listened with headphones.  When finished, the ballot
>> was
>> printed for tabulation.
>>
>>
>>
>> Such voting systems came into use across the United States in 2006, when
>> the
>> Help America Vote Act went into effect.  Every polling place was required
>> to
>> have an electronic voting machine, and that machine was required to be
>> accessible to all voters with disabilities, including the blind.  Those
>> systems will continue to be available.
>>
>>
>>
>> If a voter with a disability couldn't bake it to the polling center
>> however,
>> they would have to revert to having someone else read and mark their
>> ballot
>> for them, the situation that prevailed prior to 2006.  Divulging every
>> voting choice to someone else is unthinkable to all other American
>> voters,
>> let alone trusting someone else to accurately mark your ballot.
>>
>>
>>
>> Signing will be at 11 a.m. at the Capitol, Room 123.  SB19-202 will be
>> signed into law along with a number of other voting bills passed in the
>> 2019
>> session.
>>
>>
>>
>> ###
>>
>>
>>
>> About the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado
>>
>>
>>
>> The National Federation of the Blind of Colorado (NFBCO) is the state's
>> affiliate of the oldest, largest, and most influential nationwide
>> membership
>> organization of blind people. Founded in 1955, the NFBCO advocates for
>> the
>> civil rights and equality of blind Coloradans, and develops innovative
>> education, technology, and training programs to provide the blind and
>> those
>> who are losing vision with the tools they need to become independent and
>> successful. Members of the public and press are warmly invited to visit
>> our
>> Colorado Center for the Blind to learn more about our innovative
>> programs,
>> 2233 W. Shepperd Ave., Littleton, Colorado.  Learn more about the NFB of
>> Colorado at nfbco.org or at theblindcoloradoan.blogspot.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> At Your Service,
>>
>>
>>
>> Kevan Worley
>>
>> Manager, Project Literacy
>>
>> 303-929-2369
>>
>>  <http://www.nfbco.org> www.nfbco.org
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
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-- 
Dan Burke
President, NFB of Denver

"Blindness is not what holds you back.  You can live the life you want!"
My Cell:  406.546.8546
Twitter:  @DallDonal