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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>From NFB of Pennsylvania President Lynn Heitz:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>On May 21, NFB-PA sued the Commonwealth in order to force it to make mail-in or absentee ballots accessible to blind voters. Currently, such ballots only come in paper form and must be marked by hand—a clear violation of federal laws. The COVID-19 crisis has escalated all of our concerns. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Our lawsuit has forced the Commonwealth to come to the negotiating table. Although the talks are ongoing, it is unclear whether we can get to a solution by the upcoming June 2 primary. Just in case, however, we want to remind you that the deadline for applying for either a mail-in or absentee ballot is Tuesday, May 26 at 5 p.m. You can submit your online application for these ballots </span><a href="https://www.votespa.com/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Mail-and-Absentee-Ballot.aspx"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>here</span></a></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Blind voters should be able to vote by absentee or mail-in ballot privately and independently—just like everyone else. We cannot promise that this will be possible but we wanted to alert you to the deadline. We are working hard to ensure accessible voting in Pennsylvania. We will keep you updated!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Lynn Heitz<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Joseph Drenth <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>First Vice-President, National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Pennsylvania State Board of Vocational Rehabilitation<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Senior R&D Software Engineer, JBT Corporation, Automated Systems Division<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Cell: 215-827-7787<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Email: joe.drenth@gmail.com<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>