Wow. What great news. Pat Olson
----- Original Message -----
From: Denise Avant via IL-Talk <il-talk at nfbnet.org>
To: 'NFB of Illinois Mailing List' <il-talk at nfbnet.org>, 'Illinois Association of Blind Students List' <iabs-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: davant1958 at gmail.com
Sent: Wed, 16 Sep 2020 19:07:04 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [IL-Talk] Accessible Vote BY Mail Instructions
Hello all,
After several months of talks by NFBI leaders with the Illinois State Board
of Elections, the state Board of Election has made it possible for blind
citizens to vote by mail privately and independently. Please see below for
instructions. Keep in mind that Chicago will be using a different
accessible vote by mail system. If you want your local election authority to
obtain this option, make sure to call and request it. We will post this
flier and the list of elections authorities and any other voting information
on our website at nfbofillinois.org as soon as possible.
STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS
STATE OF ILLINOIS
2329 S MacArthur Blvd.
Springfield, Illinois 62704
217/782-4141
Fax: 217/782-5959
James R. Thompson Center
100 W. Randolph Street, Ste 14-100
Chicago Illinois 60601
312/814-6440
Fax: 312/814-6485
BOARD MEMBERS
Charles W. Scholz, Chair
Ian K. Linnabary, Vice Chair
William J. Cadigan
Laura K. Donohue
William R. Haine
William M. McGuffage
Katherine S. O'Brien
Casandra B. Watson
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Steven S. Sandvoss
Accessible Vote by Mail Now Available in Illinois
The State Board of Elections is pleased to offer an opportunity for election
authorities (county clerk or board of election commissioners) to accommodate
blind and low vision voters in the vote by mail process for the November
2020 General Election.
In participating jurisdictions, voters may request to receive their vote by
mail ballot electronically. Voters must make this request directly to their
election authority. After verifying you have completed an application to
vote by mail, your election authority will ask you for your name, date of
birth, and the email address where you would like to receive the link to
your electronic ballot.
Within 5 business days of the request, you will receive an email from
noreply at access.vote with an Access PIN and a link to a website where you can
access your electronic ballot.
Following the instructions on the accessible website, you may download your
ballot and mark it using assistive technology. After you have completed and
reviewed the ballot, please print, sign, and return it to your election
authority in accordance with the instructions provided. Please note the wet
signature of the person marking the ballot is required for the ballot to be
counted. While the SBE has also recommended election authorities exercise
consideration and discretion in evaluating the locations of the certifying
signatures, election officials are bound by minimum statutory requirements.
You may return the ballot by mail, in-person delivery, or by utilizing a
drop box where available.
Accessible vote by mail is an accommodation which may not be available in
every jurisdiction. Please contact your local election authority for
information on whether this accommodation is available in your jurisdiction
and for more information about voting by mail. Vote by mail ballots may be
sent to voters as early as September 24, 2020, so the State Board of
Elections encourages you to reach out to your election authority as soon as
possible. If you receive a ballot by mail, please contact your local
election authority for further instructions about substituting it with an
electronic, accessible vote by mail ballot.
You can access a demonstration of the accessible vote by mail platform at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=E6qj1DukMWc.
Denise R. Avant, Esq.
President,
National Federation of the Blind of Illinois
773-991-8050
Live the life you want.
For more information about NFBI,
Go to www.nfbofillinois.org