[IL-Talk] Demand Letter

Fri Jun 26 15:53:46 UTC 2020

I would not characterize this as a demand letter. Below is an article giving
some background and it contains in whole the letter I think you are
referencing. 

Blind Encounter Access Barriers on IDES Web Page and in Vote by Mail Plan 

Blind people in Illinois often face accessibility barriers. Web pages
designed with images only or with improper tagging make it impossible for a
blind person to read them. Poll workers who do not know how to authorize
audio ballots necessitate hours long waits to simply cast a ballot. However,
these problems pale in comparison to those faced during the pandemic. 

COVID-19 is multiplying the issues blind Illinoisans encounter. This article
shares a letter which seeks to rectify two serious issues: the inability for
the blind to apply for unemployment and the fact that our new vote-by-mail
system lacks any provision for accessible vote-by-mail, leaving the blind
with the choice to jeopardize their health by having to visit a polling
place in person or essentially give up their right to a secret ballot by
using a sighted person to mark an absentee ballot. Most recently, we found
that even the online system for asking for an absentee ballot in Chicago
excludes the blind. 

Some historical perspective is helpful. The National Federation of the Blind
of Illinois (NFBI), the largest consumer group representing the blind in
Illinois, has repeatedly complained about inaccessibility of local and state
government websites over many years. Yet, each time a new item is rolled
out, NFBI has to inform the entity of its duty to provide accessibility and,
in some cases, tell them what to do. These problems persist despite the
enactment of the Information Technology Access Act. 

During the pandemic, NFBI President, Denise Avant, contacted Governor
Pritzker's office regarding inaccessibility of state websites. She was
simply told the information would be passed along to the key person in the
Pritzker office. No further communication was received from our state
government. 

Below is the text of President Avant's letter regarding the
disenfranchisement of low vision and blind residents of Illinois:
June 23, 2020

Jesse White
Illinois Secretary of State
213 State Capitol
Springfield, IL62756 

Dear Secretary White:

I am the President of the Illinois affiliate of the National Federation of
the Blind. We are the largest advocacy organization of blind people with
over 50,000 members. I am writing to express our concern over the recent
passage of Illinois' Vote by Mail legislation, SB 1863. This bill was
recently signed into law by Governor Pritzker. 

The Act applies only to the 2020 general elections. However, there are
contested races up and down the ballot and every vote may be critical. Under
the Americans with Disabilities Act, blind people are guaranteed the right
to cast an accessible, secret and independent vote. In part, Illinois' vote
by mail law provides that the election authorities provide notice of the
availability of vote by mail ballots in large print and Braille, assistance
in marking the ballot, the procedures for casting a vote by mail ballot and
information on voting early. In this unprecedented time of COVID-19, many
voters are strongly considering voting by mail as an option to protect
themselves from the exposure of the disease. This is especially true for
people with underlying health conditions, such as diabetes. 

According to the law, if a blind person wants to vote by mail, he will have
to request a ballot from the local election authority. If he chooses to
request a mail ballot through a website, he will find the website in many
instances to be inaccessible with someone using screen reading, Braille or
large print technology. This is certainly the case with the Chicago Board of
Election's website. All local elections authorities should be compliant with
web standards for accessibility.

According to the law, if a blind person wants to exercise the vote by mail
option and protect himself from the risk of exposure to COVID-19, he must
give up his right to cast a secret and independent ballot and find someone
else to mark  his ballot. If he wishes to retain his right to a secret and
independent vote, he will have to vote in person risking his health. Or he
can simply choose not to vote at all. Sighted people are not confronted with
such an unpleasant and unlawful choice. Therefore, as passed, the law
violates the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires states to
ensure that voters with disabilities are offered an opportunity to
vote-whether in person or by absentee ballot-that is equal to the
opportunity offered to voters without disabilities. Thus, if all other
voters can vote absentee privately and independently, voters with
disabilities must be offered the same opportunity. Furthermore, Section 504
of the Rehabilitation Act states that public entities that receive federal
financial assistance may not discriminate against people with disabilities
in their programs, services, or activities.  local jurisdictions that use
Vote by Mail include twenty-seven of twenty-nine counties in Utah,
thirty-one of fifty-three counties in North Dakota, five counties in
California, and the city of Anchorage. Hawaii, Oregon, Colorado and Maryland
have an accessible Vote-by-Mail system. 

The law on this issue, particularly in the Fourth Circuit, is quite clear.
In National Federation of the Blind v. Lamone, the United States Court of
Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the Maryland State Board of
Elections violated Title II of the ADA and Section 504 by providing only a
paper absentee ballot that was inaccessible to people with print and
dexterity disabilities, while refusing to allow access to a ballot marking
tool  that would grant them the same opportunity provided to voters without
disabilities to mark their absentee ballot independently.	

The Fourth Circuit explained that the opportunity to mark an absentee ballot
privately and independently was a benefit that the Maryland State Board of
Elections provided to voters without disabilities but denied voters with
disabilities on the basis of their disability. It was of no consequence that
Maryland made other methods of voting, like in-person voting, available to
voters with disabilities on an equal basis.  The right to vote absentee
privately and independently was a distinct benefit, and the denial of this
opportunity was "precisely the sort of harm the ADA seeks to prevent." Nat'l
Fed'n of the Blind v. Lamone, 813 F.3d 494, 506 (4th Cir. 2016). The opinion
further states "that by effectively requiring disabled individuals to rely
on the assistance of others to vote absentee, defendants have not provided
plaintiffs with meaningful access to Maryland's absentee voting program."
Id. at 507.

The Fourth Circuit also noted that state law, such as a requirement that
voting systems be certified, does not exempt "public entities from making
otherwise reasonable modifications to prevent disability discrimination"
because the "Constitution's Supremacy Clause establishes that valid federal
legislation can pre-empt state laws." Id. at 508. The Sixth Circuit in the
recent case, Hindel v. Husted, also found that certification procedures
required by state law could not block enforcement of the ADA when it comes
to the right to vote absentee on an equal basis. See Hindel v. Husted, 875
F.3d 344, 349 (6th Cir. 2017).

Currently, there are a number of accessible absentee ballot-marking systems
available for use in US elections. The Maryland State Board of Elections
makes its accessible ballot-marking tool available at no charge. Five
Cedars, Voting Works, Democracy Live, Dominion Voting, and Prime III are
examples of vendors that can also provide absentee ballot-marking systems.
Many of these systems have now met Ohio and California's certification
requirements for election technology. Recently, Federal District Courts in
Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania have ordered state officials to provide
an accessible vote by mail system so that blind voters could exercise the
right to cast a secret and independent ballot in the primary election and in
the upcoming general election. We have a little under five months to go
before the general election. It is not too late for your office to mandate
that every election authority in Illinois provide a means for blind voters
to cast an accessible vote by mail ballot secretly and independently. Given
the requirements of the ADA and Section 504, as well as the wide
availability of accessible ballot marking systems, I strongly encourage you
to implement such a system for use in the 2020 elections, and all subsequent
federal, state, and local elections in which absentee voting is available.
The National Federation of the Blind will be monitoring the availability of
accessible absentee voting through our 2020 national blind voter survey, and
subsequent surveys following each presidential general election.

Voters with disabilities must be considered as you design and plan your
absentee voting process. Providing an accessible ballot-marking tool will
guarantee that people with disabilities have an opportunity to cast their
ballots privately and independently that is equal to the opportunity
provided to voters without disabilities, as required by the ADA. The
National Federation of the Blind is available as you consider the
accessibility of your current absentee voting system. We welcome an
opportunity to advise you on the development, or in the procurement process,
of an accessible ballot-marking tool. 

Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions, or if you need
assistance with the implementation of accessible absentee voting. 

Sincerely,
Denise R. Avant, ESQ, President
National Federation of the Blind of Illinois

CC: Governor J.B. Pritzker, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raol, Illinois
Senate President Don Harmon, (D. 39th Senate District), Illinois Senate
Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford, (D. 4th Senate District), Illinois
Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady, (R. 44th Senate District), Illinois
Speaker of the House Michael Madigan (D. 22d District), Illinois House
Majority Leader Greg Harris (D. 13th District), Illinois House Minority
Leader Jim Durkin, (R. 44th District)    

Patti S. Gregory-Chang Esq.
National Federation of the Blind of Illinois, Treasurer
773-307-6440
www.nfbofillinois.org 

-----Original Message-----
From: IL-Talk [mailto:il-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dan TeVelde
via IL-Talk
Sent: Friday, June 26, 2020 9:14 AM
To: 'NFB of Illinois Mailing List' <il-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: dan.tevelde at comcast.net
Subject: [IL-Talk] Demand Letter

Hi all,

Thanks for inviting me to the advocacy committee meeting.  Could someone
send me the demand letter sent to the governor?

Thanks,

Dan

_______________________________________________
IL-Talk mailing list
IL-Talk at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/il-talk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
IL-Talk:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/il-talk_nfbnet.org/pattischang%40gmail.com