[Colorado-Talk] Using Colorado's Accessible Electronic Ballot Delivery and Return System

Sat Oct 22 21:31:12 UTC 2022

I had issues starting with #9 and selecting the PDF file. Jaws didn't read this Save as function. I called AIRA and we got it done in the end. I feel good getting as far as I got.

Infinite Blessings,
Gail Hamilton
International Speaker
Soaring Into Greatness
Unstoppable, Unforgettable, Unbelievable
gail at soaringintogreatness.com<mailto:gail at soaringintogreatness.com>
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[Member, National Speakers Association]

From: Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Curtis Chong via Colorado-Talk
Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2022 3:28 PM
To: 'NFB of Colorado Discussion List' <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Curtis Chong <chong.curtis at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Colorado-Talk] Using Colorado's Accessible Electronic Ballot Delivery and Return System

Hi Tim:

I believe you will get a notification through BallotTrax when your ballot is actually processed and counted. I am glad it all worked out in the end.

Kindly,

Curtis Chong

From: Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org<mailto:colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org>> On Behalf Of Tim Keenan via Colorado-Talk
Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2022 11:22 AM
To: 'NFB of Colorado Discussion List' <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org<mailto:colorado-talk at nfbnet.org>>
Cc: tkeenan79 at gmail.com<mailto:tkeenan79 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Colorado-Talk] Using Colorado's Accessible Electronic Ballot Delivery and Return System

Well, that wasn't too bad. We are indeed trailblazers here in Colorado. Thanks to everyone involved!

I just hope it actually works. Do you get an additional notification to indicate that your ballot has actually been counted?

Cheers,
Tim

From: Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org<mailto:colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org>> On Behalf Of Julia Zanon via Colorado-Talk
Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2022 10:20 AM
To: 'NFB of Colorado Discussion List' <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org<mailto:colorado-talk at nfbnet.org>>
Cc: juliazanon at comcast.net<mailto:juliazanon at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [Colorado-Talk] Using Colorado's Accessible Electronic Ballot Delivery and Return System

Yes, this is so much better than struggling with a paper ballot. My ballot material went through without difficulty. Curtis's "how to" suggestions are invaluable.

From: Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org<mailto:colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org>> On Behalf Of Sandy Schleich via Colorado-Talk
Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2022 10:09 AM
To: NFB of Colorado Discussion List <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org<mailto:colorado-talk at nfbnet.org>>
Cc: Sandy Schleich <saschleich7 at gmail.com<mailto:saschleich7 at gmail.com>>
Subject: Re: [Colorado-Talk] Using Colorado's Accessible Electronic Ballot Delivery and Return System

Hi Curtis, I wanted to thank you for posting this it really helped when I was trying to navigate and fill out my ballot. I did want to let everyone know in case they have the same issue but when I had everything downloaded I went to submit it and it told me that something went wrong so I had to do it again. It went through the second time but I don't know what the problem was the first time because I had everything downloaded like I was supposed to. I don't know if it was just my computer issue or if it was their site issue but I'd like to know from other people if they had the same problem submitting at the first time also. Thank you again for posting this.
________________________________
From: Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org<mailto:colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org>> on behalf of Curtis Chong via Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org<mailto:colorado-talk at nfbnet.org>>
Sent: Monday, October 17, 2022 9:11:41 AM
To: 'NFB of Colorado Discussion List' <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org<mailto:colorado-talk at nfbnet.org>>
Cc: Curtis Chong <chong.curtis at gmail.com<mailto:chong.curtis at gmail.com>>
Subject: [Colorado-Talk] Using Colorado's Accessible Electronic Ballot Delivery and Return System

Using Colorado's
Accessible Ballot
Delivery and Return System

By Curtis Chong

Starting October 17, 2022, ballots for the November 8 general election will be mailed out to registered voters in Colorado. For people with disabilities, those who are blind, and individuals who are unable to mark the printed mail ballot without assistance, this means that on that date, Colorado's accessible electronic ballot delivery, marking, and return system will be open and available to be used. In Colorado, people with disabilities can obtain and mark their ballots at home using the access technology with which they are most familiar. People with print disabilities can also return their ballots electronically.

Critical First Step

For anyone who wants to use the new electronic ballot return option when voting, there is a critical first step which must be completed. You need to take a picture of your Colorado State ID and place it somewhere on your computer or smartphone where you can easily locate it. If, however, you prefer to use the system simply to mark your ballot and if you have ready access to a printer, then you do not need to create a picture of your Colorado State ID.

Accessible Voting Procedure

1.      Point your browser to https://myballot.sos.colorado.gov<https://myballot.sos.colorado.gov/app/home>. You will be taken to the accessible ballot home page. Find the Vote My Ballot heading and activate the CONTINUE button which is immediately adjacent to it. This will take you to the Voter Lookup page.

2.      On this Voter Lookup page, you will need to provide your first and last name, your date of birth, and the county where you are registered to vote. Once this information has been entered, activate the CONTINUE button. This will take you to the Ballot Type page.

3.      On the Ballot Type page, you will find two radio buttons.

*        I am a voter with a disability and am requesting an accessible ballot

*        This does not apply

Activate the first radio button and then activate the CONTINUE button to be taken to the "Please confirm you are eligible to access this system" page.

4.      This page contains a checkbox which you should activate to affirm that you are a voter with a disability as defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act. Check the box and then activate the CONTINUE button.

5.      This next page asks a question which determines if you are a voter who is blind, has a print disability, or is otherwise unable, through physical disability, to hold, mark, or manipulate a ballot or to focus or move the eyes to the extent that would be normally acceptable for reading or marking a ballot. If you are blind and want to return your ballot electronically, activate the Yes radio button. If you want to return your ballot in the mail and you have a printer, you can respond "No" to this question. After activating the appropriate Radio Button, activate the CONTINUE button.

6.      On this last voter verification page, you are asked to enter either your driver's license number (or your Colorado State ID number) or the last four digits of your Social Security number. You do not need to enter both pieces of information. After entering your identification information, activate the CONTINUE button.

7.      On the ballot page, each candidate or position is indicated by a checkbox. Use the space key to check the boxes corresponding to the candidates or positions for which you want to vote. Once you have completed marking the ballot, activate the CONTINUE button to go to the Selection Review page.

8.      On the Selection Review page, you have the opportunity to check your ballot for one last time before moving on to the next phase. There is a Change button for each contest which, when activated, takes you back to the ballot page. Once you are satisfied that the ballot is as you want it, activate the CONTINUE button at the bottom of the page. You will be taken to the Save or Print Your Ballot page.

9.      On this page, you should activate the SAVE OR PRINT YOUR BALLOT button. If you are activating this button from a Windows computer and if you want to save your ballot instead of printing it, you should ensure that the printer selected is the one which is labeled Save as PDF.

If you are using an iPhone or iPad) there is, unfortunately,  one small point of confusion. After you activate the SAVE OR PRINT YOUR BALLOT button, you will encounter a Print button but not one which specifically says Download. You need to tap three times quickly on the Print button (if running VoiceOver) or tap-and-hold the Print button so that you can save the PDF file somewhere on your iPhone. If you are taking advantage of electronic ballot return where your ballot will be uploaded, activate the Save to Files button and select the location where you would like to store the document.

10.    After your ballot is saved or printed, you will be taken back to the Save or Print Your Ballot page. Activate the CONTINUE button to be taken to the Download or Print Return Package page.

11.    On this page, activate the DOWNLOAD OR PRINT ADDITIONAL MATERIALS button. Windows users will be prompted with a dialog to save a PDF document. By default this file will be placed in your default Downloads folder. You will be able to give it whatever name works for you. For iPhone/iPad users, however, while you will be prompted to download the package, you will not be able to give it another name.

12.    After the package has been printed or downloaded, activate the CONTINUE button to go to the next step.

13.    If you are going to print your ballot and ballot application documents instead of downloading them, you are finished. However, if you downloaded these files to submit them electronically, you should pay attention to the following instructions.

"Thank you for voting, but you're not done!

Please follow the instructions provided in the previous pages and in your additional ballot materials to return your ballot and materials to your local elections office. If you are returning your ballot and materials electronically, please return them at Colorado's secure ballot return website by clicking the "return my ballot" link below."

For your information, the "return my ballot" link points to https://ballotreturn.coloradosos.gov/form/accessible.

Uploading Your Ballot and Ballot Application

After you have saved your ballot, your ballot application document, and a picture of your Colorado State ID, you should direct your browser to the website https://ballotreturn.coloradosos.gov/form/accessible. You will be taken to the State of Colorado Secure Ballot Return page. You do not have to perform this part of the voting process immediately after you have finished marking your ballot. You already have your documents downloaded to your system. You can treat this as part of the process as something that you can take up on another day.

On the State of Colorado Secure Ballot Return page, screen reader users are, unfortunately, placed on an edit field where you are asked to enter your first name. Entering your identification information is, however, one of the last steps you would perform in this procedure-not the first. Move your focus to the top of the page and read the information you find there. Non-mouse users should activate the browse to attach files link to start uploading the first file. As each file is uploaded successfully, a list will appear showing the file name and file size. The system allows a maximum of 20 files to be uploaded. Each file should not exceed 5 megabytes in size. Since you aren't printing anything, you will need to upload three files:

*        your voted ballot,

*        your ballot application, and

*        a picture of your state identification card.

Once all files have been uploaded, fill in your name, phone number, and email address, and activate the Submit button.

Conclusion

If all of this sounds exceedingly complicated or, at the very least, tedious, I am afraid that there are definitely a lot of steps to perform here. Such is the way with technology.

Voters with disabilities who use this system are urged to contact their respective county clerks. If history is any guide, you will probably be referred to the office of Colorado's Secretary of State. If you like, feel free to call me at 515-306-1654 or drop me an email at chong.curtis at gmail.com<mailto:chong.curtis at gmail.com>. I will try to be of help if I can.

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