[Md-sligo] Annapolis Fact Sheets

Tue Jan 16 03:41:17 UTC 2018

The fact sheets for our day in Annapolis this Thursday are now on the NFBMD 
website. But I am also including them, as text, below my signature. I'll see 
many of you Thursday.

Lloyd Rasmussen, Secretary, Sligo Creek Chapter
---------------------
January 18, 2018

Maryland General Assembly
Legislative Priorities for the 2018 Session

Table of Contents

                                                 Page

Restoring the Secret Ballot to Disabled Voters                         2

      Illustration of Voting Ballots                                 4

    Suggested Letter to Chairman McManus                         5

Establishing the Maryland Remote Access to Information Program (RAIP) 
6
for Deaf-blind Individuals

Strengthening Nonvisual Access Procurement Enforcement                     9

Appropriation for the Center of Excellence in Nonvisual Access (CENA) to 
12
Education, Public Information, and Commerce

To:        Members of the Maryland General Assembly
From:        Members of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
Contact:    Sharon Maneki, President
      National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
      9013 Nelson Way
      Columbia, MD 21045
      Phone: 410-715-9596
      Email: nfbmd at earthlink.net

Subject:     Restoring the Secret Ballot to Disabled Voters
Date:         January 18, 2018

THE PROBLEM
Many blind and disabled voters must use the Election Systems and Software 
(ES&S) ExpressVote Ballot Marking Device (BMD) to cast their ballots.  This 
machine produces a paper ballot that is smaller in size and different in 
content from the ballot that is hand marked by voters who do not need an 
accessible voting system. (Smaller ballot measures 4.24’’ x 14’’ with a 1.24’’ 
diagonal cut at top right corner; larger ballot measures 8.5’’ x 17’’.  See 
illustration on page 3.)  Primary election candidates in the 2016 election 
whose names appeared on the second or third screens of the BMD threatened 
legal action, complaining that navigating to these screens was too 
difficult.  The State Board of Elections (SBE) responded to these complaints 
by severely limiting the use of the ExpressVote, by deploying only one of 
these devices to each polling place.  SBE further limited the use of these 
machines by only requiring two voters per polling place to use the machine. 
Thus, in the 2016 elections, ballots cast by disabled voters were segregated 
and too easily identifiable in the overall collection of ballots. 
Therefore, ballots cast by disabled voters were no longer secret.  SBE plans 
to use these same segregating and discriminating procedures during the 2018 
primary and general elections.
PROPOSED ACTION
The National Federation of the Blind of Maryland requests that each Delegate 
and Senator contact David J. McManus, Jr., Esq., Chairman of the State Board 
of Elections, to demand that SBE restore the secret ballot protection to 
disabled voters and end this practice of segregation by going back to its 
original plan to require at least 30 voters to use the ExpressVote BMD in 
each polling place.  See attached sample letter.
BACKGROUND
Maryland Election Law Article §9-102(f)(1), Annotated Code of Maryland, 
states that a voting system selected and certified by the Maryland SBE shall 
"provide access to voters with disabilities that is equivalent to access 
afforded voters without disabilities without creating a segregated ballot 
for voters with disabilities."   On December 18, 2013, the Attorney General 
of Maryland issued an opinion that states that if SBE chooses to certify an 
accessible ballot marking device that produces a ballot that is different in 
size and/or content from the hand-marked ballots, SBE “must establish 
randomized polling-place procedures to ensure that a significant number of 
non-disabled voters will use the accessible voting system to protect the 
secrecy of the ballots cast by voters with disabilities.”  Requiring only 
two voters to use the ExpressVote BMD does not meet the definition of 
randomized polling procedures.

The experience of the 2016 primary and general elections demonstrated that 
all voters had little difficulty in navigating to multiple screens on the 
BMD.  The fears of candidates that voters would not be able to vote for them 
were unfounded.  Data from the 2016 elections demonstrated segregation 
because twelve counties had several precincts where only one voter used the 
ExpressVote BMD.  The votes of these people were definitely identifiable. 
These jurisdictions were: Baltimore City, and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, 
Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Harford, Howard, Prince George’s, 
Washington and Wicomico Counties.

The National Federation of the Blind of Maryland and Disability Rights 
Maryland gave written and oral testimony to SBE concerning the need to 
protect the constitutional right of voters with disabilities to cast a 
secret ballot.  We urged SBE to increase the use of the ExpressVote BMD for 
the 2018 elections.  Seven Maryland county boards of elections also gave 
written and oral testimony to SBE, stating their need to have the 
flexibility to provide additional ExpressVote BMDs at the more heavily used 
polling places and at polling places with large senior populations.  SBE 
turned a deaf ear to the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland, 
Disability Rights Maryland and these counties.

CONCLUSION
Voters with disabilities are entitled to the same right to cast a secret 
ballot afforded to nondisabled voters. SBE should not be permitted to 
subvert the rights of disabled voters to the unfounded fears of candidates. 
The current plans for the 2018 elections violate the call for randomization 
procedures for both disabled and nondisabled voters to use the ExpressVote 
BMDs issued in the 2013 Attorney General’s opinion.  The Maryland General 
Assembly must put a stop to this voting segregation and discrimination. 
Please urge SBE to set a goal of encouraging at least 30 voters to use the 
ExpressVote BMD in each polling place.
IILLUSTRATION OF BOTH SAMPLE BALLOTS, SIDE BY SIDE

SAMPLE LETTER TO CHAIRMAN MCMANUS
Please write to Chairman McManus to express your concern about the current 
voting procedures and the negative impact these will have on blind and 
disabled voters.  (Please send me a copy to the cc: I have included at the 
bottom.) You may use as much of the following language as you deem 
necessary:

David J. McManus, Jr., Esq., Chairman
State Board of Elections
P.O. Box 6486
Annapolis, MD 21401-0486

info.sbe at maryland.gov

Dear Chairman McManus,

I understand that the Maryland State Board of Elections plans to instruct 
election judges to limit the use of the ExpressVote ballot marking device in 
the upcoming 2018 primary and general elections.  Establishing the quota 
that two voters per polling place must use the ExpressVote ballot marking 
device has led to, and will continue to lead to, segregation and 
discrimination.  Since disabled voters must use this machine and the ballot 
is different in size and content than the hand-marked ballot, their votes 
can be easily identified and will no longer be secret.

The strength of any democracy is measured by voter participation.  Voter 
participation must be private and fair to all citizens.  I strongly 
recommend that you revise your plans for the upcoming elections to increase 
the number of voters that should be encouraged to use the ExpressVote ballot 
marking device.  Maryland should not be promoting segregation and 
discrimination in its voting system and should be guaranteeing that every 
voter can cast a secret ballot.

Sincerely,

cc: Sharon Maneki   nfbmd at earthlink.net or 9013 Nelson Way, Columbia, MD 
21045

To:        Members of the Maryland General Assembly
From:        Members of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
Contact:    Sharon Maneki, President
      National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
      9013 Nelson Way
      Columbia, MD 21045
      Phone: 410-715-9596
      Email: nfbmd at earthlink.net

Subject:    Establishing the Maryland Remote Access to Information Program 
(RAIP) for Deaf-blind Individuals
Date:         January 18, 2018

THE PROBLEM
Access to all types of information is the greatest obstacle to living a 
fruitful life faced by deaf-blind people today.  They often remain isolated 
from family and friends, struggle to maintain independence and have 
difficulty in participating in all aspects of community life.  Deaf-blind 
people need customized individualized services to overcome the barriers of 
dual sensory limitations.  Maryland can reduce these barriers by putting new 
communications technology to work in serving the needs of deaf-blind 
citizens.
PROPOSED ACTION
The Maryland General Assembly should adopt legislation to create the Remote 
Access Information Program (RAIP), to be located in the Department of 
Disabilities to test the advantages of using technology to assist deaf-blind 
people in reaching full participation in all aspects of community life. 
This program shall be funded by the Telecommunications Access of Maryland 
(TAM) within the Department of Information Technology.
BACKGROUND
Deaf-blindness is a unique disability.  Deaf-blind people use some of the 
techniques that blind people use and some techniques that deaf people use. 
However, they often need extra assistance to compensate for this dual 
sensory loss.  Depending on the degrees of these limitations, deaf-blind 
individuals require customized, individualized services.  Some communicate 
by using sign language while others use their voice.  Some deaf-blind people 
acquire information by reading Braille while others read large print.  In 
the most severe cases, individuals use manual deaf-blind fingerspelling. 
Regardless, they have the same desire for full participation in all aspects 
of community life as the rest of society.  Many deaf-blind people do not 
achieve their goals for independence, education and employment because they 
cannot obtain the services they need.
The authors of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) recognized the need 
to ensure that hearing and speech impaired individuals, including the 
deaf-blind, have the right to gain information and to communicate through 
telecommunications.  Title IV of the ADA outlines the services that these 
individuals must receive.  Deaf-blindness has always been one of the 
categories of disabled people to be served under Title IV of the ADA.
Telecommunications Access of Maryland (TAM) is a state agency within the 
Maryland Department of Information Technology that oversees all Maryland 
Relay services and programs, including the Maryland Accessible 
Telecommunications (MAT) program.  MAT distributes telecommunications 
equipment needed by deaf-blind people to independently make or receive phone 
calls.  Since the inception of Maryland Relay in 1991, deaf-blind 
individuals have been served in both the Relay and equipment distribution 
programs.
Communications and access to information have increased dramatically with 
the invention of the smartphone.  Smartphones offer greater opportunities 
for deaf-blind people both to obtain information and enhance their ability 
to communicate with others.  The use of a smartphone is not just limited to 
voice communication. For instance, people can use the smartphone to read or 
listen to text.  Not only can smartphones be used to take pictures, but 
these pictures can then be transmitted to other smartphones or to computers. 
By judiciously linking a pair of camera-mounted eyeglasses and a smartphone, 
a deaf-blind person may take a picture of her environment, relay that 
picture to a human assistant located anywhere, and receive an accurate 
verbal or text description of the environment from that human assistant.
It is time for Maryland to provide the advantages of remote access 
information technology to its deaf-blind citizens.

ADVANTAGES OF THE RAIP
Services to deaf-blind children and adults in Maryland are very limited. The 
meager services that do exist are fragmented and not available statewide. 
The use of remote access information technology will allow the state of 
Maryland to serve more of its deaf-blind population. Personal assistants who 
are available to provide information to deaf-blind people in a local area 
will be able to serve a greater number of deaf-blind people in a larger 
area.
A second advantage is the greater flexibility of service delivery. For 
example, some deaf-blind people use a personal assistant to accomplish 
everyday essential tasks such as buying groceries.  If an emergency occurs, 
a remote personal assistant would be able to meet this need more quickly 
because such service is on-demand.  If a deaf-blind person wants to attend a 
job fair, but no one is available to physically accompany her, then the 
remote assistant could help by reading the signs for the various booths and 
describing other environmental information as she walks through the fair. 
This display of independence will make a great selling point to potential 
employers.
CONCLUSION
Deaf-blind individuals can be productive members of society if they receive 
the quantity and quality of services that they need to overcome the barriers 
created by their dual sensory limitations.  Remote access technology should 
be considered as a method to decrease the large information gap experienced 
by deaf-blind people.  Telecommunications Access of Maryland already has the 
responsibility to provide access to information for deaf-blind people. 
Therefore, they should take advantage of the advancements that remote access 
technology offers.

To:        Members of the Maryland General Assembly
From:        Members of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
Contact:    Sharon Maneki, President
       National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
       9013 Nelson Way
       Columbia, MD 21045
       Phone: 410-715-9596
       Email: nfbmd at earthlink.net

Subject:     Strengthening Nonvisual Access Procurement Enforcement
Date:         January 18, 2018

THE PROBLEM
Maryland has excellent laws that require state government agencies to make 
information and communication technology (ICT), and technology services, 
such as websites, accessible to the blind.  Unfortunately, these laws are 
poorly enforced and sometimes completely ignored.  Consequently, blind 
citizens are denied access to information that is available to the rest of 
the public. Blind state employees are often ineffective at their jobs 
because they do not have nonvisual accessible tools to do their work.

PROPOSED ACTION
In 1998 and 2000, the General Assembly enacted legislation to incorporate 
nonvisual access requirements into the procurement process. The Maryland 
General Assembly should now strengthen these laws by enacting the “Nonvisual 
Access Cost-Savings Act” of 2018.  This proposed legislation establishes 
penalties for noncompliance by vendors, thus saving taxpayer money, and will 
update the 2000 law to reflect changes in current technology.

BACKGROUND
Blind people can use special screen reading devices that enable them to read 
data and fill out forms by using synthetic speech or Braille output devices. 
These screen reading devices will work only if the websites, document 
formats, or other hardware and software are designed to accommodate 
nonvisual access. The methods for nonvisual access are well known and well 
documented. The first publicly available accessibility guidelines were 
published in 1995 and have been updated periodically. Yet, the problem of 
nonvisual access remains unresolved in Maryland and elsewhere.
The executive branch of Maryland state government continues to discriminate 
against blind citizens by denying us access to public information and 
services. This discrimination persists even though there are specific state 
and federal laws requiring access for all citizens. These laws have been in 
effect for decades.
When the state of Maryland solicits bids from vendors, it requires the 
products in question to include nonvisual access. The concept used in state 
and federal laws of placing nonvisual access requirements in the procurement 
process is a good one. It is cost-effective for vendors to incorporate 
nonvisual access during the design phase of the product rather than having 
to go back later and redesign the product. Why then does the problem of 
nonvisual access remain?

CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT AND SAVINGS
The proposed legislation should include the following provisions for 
contract enforcement and the payment of penalties which will result in net 
savings to Maryland state government:

* The present procurement law includes no consequences for a vendor’s 
failure to provide nonvisual access.

Currently, a vendor has no incentive to comply with procurement 
accessibility requirements. Strengthening the procurement law by providing 
for vendor penalties will demonstrate the importance of the requirement to 
the vendor. Charging any vendor to remediate the product so it contains 
nonvisual access components will also save money for the state.  The 
following two reasonable requirements will not have a detrimental impact on 
the vendor, but will ensure enforcement of the contract and achieve the goal 
of nonvisual access.

1. Requiring that all state contracts with any vendor shall include a 
provision that, upon a determination within eighteen months from procurement 
or latest upgrade, if any access barriers are present, the Department of 
Information Technology (DOIT) shall notify that vendor of such access 
barriers, and that vendor shall be required to remediate those barriers.

2. Requiring the DOIT to notify a vendor of the access barrier in writing at 
the vendor’s place of business, and requiring that vendor, at its own 
expense, to remedy the defect. Should that vendor fail to remediate the 
access barrier within twelve months from the date of notice, a civil penalty 
shall be applied at the rate of 1% of the total purchase price of the 
contract for each day until the problem is remediated, or until the full 
price of the contract is refunded.

No vendor should object to this requirement because it has a year to fix the 
problem before any penalty is invoked. Placing a cap on the penalty that is 
the price of the contract, is fair to the vendor while helping the state to 
recoup its losses. In the long run such a penalty will allow full 
enforcement of the contract while saving the state money.

* The procurement law needs to be updated to accommodate changes in 
technology.

Technology has improved and changed dramatically since the nonvisual access 
requirements in the procurement law were enacted in 2000. During these 
eighteen years, technologies have become more powerful and cheaper. For 
example, instead of buying a desktop system for thousands of dollars, an 
iPad Pro can be purchased for $600. Currently, the procurement law allows a 
vendor to ask for an exemption to the nonvisual access requirement if adding 
the accessibility features would cost an additional 5%. Since it is cheaper 
to produce technology, the limit of this exemption is too low. Raising the 
exemption to 15% would be a more reasonable reflection of the actual 
accessibility cost, and it is still fair to the vendor. Raising the 
exemption to 15% will close the floodgates that currently permit vendors to 
opt out of accessibility requirements.

The state of Maryland adopted the federal government’s Section 508 Nonvisual 
Accessibility standard as its standard of operation. Since the federal 
government has recently updated this standard, the state of Maryland should 
adopt the new updated standard by January 1, 2019. This new standard should 
apply to all future technologies to be purchased by the state of Maryland. 
Any implemented technology that is compliant with the old standard should be 
“grandfathered in.” This is a reasonable timeline because the new standard 
already exists.

CONCLUSION
The proposed legislation should not discourage vendors from bidding on state 
procurement contracts for information technologies. The components for 
nonvisual access are readily available and relatively inexpensive to 
acquire. What vendors must understand is that there is a “right way” and a 
“wrong way” to implement these components. Without careful thought, 
integrating nonvisual access into the overall design of a system for 
information technology can be disastrous. However, finding the “right way” 
does not require a stroke of genius or an immense amount of work. Vendors 
now have an inordinate amount of prior successful experiences which they can 
adapt to fit their needs.
Nonvisual access to public information provided by the state of Maryland 
should be improving because the knowledge and tools now exist to provide 
greater access. According to state and federal laws, Maryland is not 
supposed to purchase information and communication technology products or 
services that are not accessible to the blind. Blind citizens do not 
currently have the same access to information as the rest of the general 
public, because Maryland does not enforce its laws. Maryland should be a 
model employer of persons with disabilities. However, Maryland ignores the 
accessibility laws and blind workers do not have the tools to perform their 
jobs efficiently. The state of Maryland should receive the nonvisual access 
that it has already paid for.  It is time to strengthen the procurement law 
to ensure that nonvisual access becomes a reality.

To:        Members of the Maryland General Assembly
From:        Members of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
Contact:    Sharon Maneki, President
       National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
       9013 Nelson Way
       Columbia, MD 21045
       Phone: 410-715-9596
       Email: nfbmd at earthlink.net

Subject:     Appropriation for the Center of Excellence in Nonvisual Access 
(CENA) to Education, Public Information, and Commerce
Date:         January 18, 2018

PROPOSED ACTION
The Maryland General Assembly should keep the $250,000 appropriation in the 
Governor’s Budget for the CENA to Education, Public Information, and 
Commerce.

BACKGROUND
In 2014, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) founded the NFB Center 
of Excellence in Nonvisual Access (CENA). The CENA is a center of expertise, 
best practices, and resources that enables business, government, and 
educational institutions to more effectively provide accessible information 
and services to blind citizens. The State of Maryland, through the Maryland 
Department of Disabilities (MDOD), partners with the CENA to support a 
series of projects under the Nonvisual Accessibility Initiative (NVAI) with 
an aim to establish Maryland as a leader in nonvisual accessibility.

NEW PROJECTS
ACCESSIBILITY INCLUSION FELLOWSHIPS
The “Final Report of the Study on Accessibility Concepts in Computer 
Science, Information Systems and Information Technology Programs in Higher 
Education,” was submitted to the governor and to the General Assembly on 
August 8, 2017.  This report recommended that three annual fellowships be 
awarded to instructors that include accessibility concepts within at least 
one course offering in their institution. The NFB will administer and 
coordinate the Accessibility Inclusion Fellowship program.
ACCESSIBILITY HACKATHON
The NFB will coordinate and host a multi-day hackathon (a forum where groups 
of individuals come together for creative problem solving) focused on 
accessibility and consisting of coding projects, innovative integration of 
assistive technologies, and accessibility policy. The goal of the 
Accessibility Hackathon is to provide an opportunity for the community of 
individuals committed to accessibility to learn new strategies and 
techniques, while fostering innovation.

CONTINUING INITIATIVES
ENHANCEMENT OF THE ACCESSIBLE ACADEMIC EBOOK PROGRAM
The HathiTrust is a consortium of institutions offering more than eleven 
million titles digitized from around the world. The NFB will build on the 
information gathered from the initial pilot project to determine how to 
expand and better deliver the content offered through the HTDC (HathiTrust 
Digital Consortium). We will explore partnerships toward the development of 
policies and standards that will allow the sharing of this content.
ACCESSIBILITY BOUTIQUES AND TRAINING SEMINARS
The NVAI has contributed to a number of informal accessibility-specific 
boutiques and training seminars. The boutiques are several hours long and 
are open to the public at no cost to Maryland citizens. The larger training 
seminars are more intensive and can take place over several days. The 
intended impact is to increase accessibility awareness and the knowledge of 
educators, government administrators, businesses, and others about the tools 
and training they can use to better provide nonvisual access to their 
programs and services.
ACCESSIBILITY SWITCHBOARD
The Accessibility Switchboard is a dynamic online accessibility portal that 
provides up-to-date information to consumers about accessible websites, 
emerging technology, and frequently encountered accessibility 
problems/solutions; and also provides information specific to government, 
corporate, and educational institutions on building accessible websites. The 
NFB will continue the development of this resource.

WAYFINDING TECHNOLOGY
Emerging nonvisual access navigation or wayfinding technologies offer 
orientation and information solutions to a variety of public and commercial 
venues, including public transportation information. As Maryland reinvests 
in its infrastructure the time is right to ensure nonvisual access to public 
spaces for its diverse populace by implementing the use of nonvisual 
wayfinding technologies. In FY2019, we will be assisting with the 
installation of preferred wayfinding solutions in a variety of public 
spaces.

CONCLUSION
Access to information remains one of the greatest barriers faced by blind 
persons.  To reduce these barriers the National Federation of the Blind 
established the CENA to provide information about best practices and to 
develop innovative techniques for achieving nonvisual access.  The Maryland 
General Assembly should allow this state-of-the-art program to continue by 
approving the $250,000 appropriation in the Governor’s Budget under the 
Maryland Department of Disabilities.