<div dir="ltr"><div>Hello all,</div><div><br></div><div>Here is the second Annapolis issue (note: after the problem is a picture of the machine ballot and the hand marked paper ballot. Screen readers will probably read it as blank). Read below.</div><div><br></div><div><font size="2"><b>Subject: <span> </span>Restoring
the Secret Ballot to Disabled Voters to Assure Equality in Voting<span></span></b></font><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><b>To:<span> </span><span> </span>Members
of the Maryland General Assembly<span></span></b></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><b>From:<span> </span>Members of the National Federation
of the Blind of Maryland<span></span></b></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><b>Contact:<span> </span>Sharon Maneki, Director
of Legislation and Advocacy<span></span></b></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0in 0.5in;text-indent:0.5in;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><b>National
Federation of the Blind of Maryland<span></span></b></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0in 0.5in;text-indent:0.5in;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><b>9013
Nelson Way<span></span></b></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0in 0.5in;text-indent:0.5in;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><b>Columbia,
MD 21045<span></span></b></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0in 0.5in;text-indent:0.5in;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><b>Phone:
410-715-9596<span></span></b></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0in 0.5in;text-indent:0.5in;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><b>Email:
<a href="mailto:nfbmdsm@gmail.com">nfbmdsm@gmail.com</a><span></span></b></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0in 0.5in;text-indent:0.5in;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><b><span> </span></b></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><b>Date: <span> </span>January 2021<span></span></b></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><b><span> </span></b></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" align="center"><font size="2"><b><span style="line-height:107%">THE PROBLEM</span></b><span style="line-height:107%"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2">For most of its history, all voters in Maryland used the
same voting system. This situation changed in the 2016 and 2018 elections
because the Maryland State Board of Elections (SBE) created two systems of
voting:<span> </span>the ExpressVote electronic
ballot marking device (BMD), and the paper-based system in which ballots are
marked by hand.<span> </span>The SBE has selected the
voter-verifiable paper-based solution leased from Election Systems and Software
(ES&S) as its BMD.<span> </span>Unfortunately, in
2016 and 2018, SBE limited the use of this BMD by deploying only one device to
each polling place.<span> </span>The SBE has further
limited the use of these BMDs by requiring only two voters per polling place to
use the BMD. In the 2020 elections, due to COVID-19, SBE encouraged voters to
cast their ballots by mail. Those voters who chose to vote in person were
informed that they could cast their ballot either by using the BMD or by using
a paper ballot. Many blind and disabled voters are forced to use the ES&S
BMDs to cast their ballots because they cannot use the hand marked
ballots.<span> </span><span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2">The problem for blind and disabled voters is that the BMDs
produce paper ballots that are smaller in size and differ in content from the
hand marked ballots.<span> </span>Thus, in the 2016
and 2018 elections, ballots cast by blind and disabled voters were segregated
and too easily identifiable in the overall collection of ballots.<span> </span>Therefore, ballots cast by blind and disabled
voters were no longer secret.<span> </span>Maryland
no longer had equality in voting. In the 2020 general election, for in person
voting, voters with disabilities continued to face discrimination due to
segregation. The problem of loss of voter secrecy still remains because SBE
policies are arbitrary and inconsistent. <span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" align="center"><font size="2"><b><span>IILLUSTRATION
OF BOTH SAMPLE BALLOTS, SIDE BY SIDE <span></span></span></b></font></p><font size="2">
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</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><span> </span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;break-after:avoid;margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" align="center"><font size="2"><b><span style="line-height:107%">PROPOSED ACTION</span></b><span style="line-height:107%"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="break-after:avoid;margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2">The Maryland General Assembly should enact legislation
requiring the SBE to create one voting system for all in-person voters in
Maryland. The preamble of this legislation should state that there shall be no
discrimination on the basis of disability in the voting process. The practice
of using segregated ballots must be eliminated. <span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" align="center"><font size="2"><b><span style="line-height:107%">BACKGROUND<span></span></span></b></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2">At the end of the 20<sup>th</sup> century, Maryland began to
modernize its voting system. Gradually, Maryland introduced voters to a touch
screen electronic system with all jurisdictions using the same system beginning
in the 2004 elections. Voters with disabilities were most pleased because the
nonvisual access of this new voting system allowed us to vote secretly and in
private for the first time.<span> </span>However,
this touch screen system did not produce paper ballot records which would be
essential for the purposes of recounts and verification.<span> </span>The SBE was then forced to adopt a new voting
system that was capable of producing paper ballot records.<span> </span>This new voting system was first used in the
2016 election. <span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2">The state of Maryland was unwilling to spend the money that
was needed to purchase enough BMDs for all voters to use in the 2016
elections.<span> </span>This shortage led SBE to
deploy only one BMD in each polling place, which forced most voters to mark
their ballots by hand.<span> </span>This decision was
the beginning of the loss of the secret ballot for blind and disabled voters.<span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="gmail-MsoNoSpacing" style="margin:0in;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2">In the 2016 primary election, candidates whose names
appeared on the second or third screens of the BMD threatened legal action,
complaining that navigating to these screens was too difficult.<span> </span>To appease these candidates, SBE further
limited the use of the BMDs by requiring only two voters per polling place to
use them.<span> </span>This policy forced even more
voters to mark their ballots by hand and increased the loss of the secret
ballot for blind and disabled voters.<span> </span>In
the summer of 2019, SBE attempted to appease blind and disabled voters by
changing the number of voters that would be encouraged to use the BMD from two
to five. This new policy also allowed polling places to receive two machines,
if desired, instead of one.<span>
</span>Jurisdictions could also apply to SBE in writing and request up to four
machines.<span> </span>These policy changes will not
eliminate segregation or the loss of the secret ballot. <span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="gmail-MsoNoSpacing" style="margin:0in;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><span> </span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2">Maryland Election Law Article §9-102(f)(1), Annotated Code
of Maryland, states that a voting system selected and certified by the 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."<span>
</span><span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2">On December 18, 2013, the Attorney General of Maryland
issued an opinion stating 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 five voters to use the BMD does not meet the
definition of randomized polling procedures. We emphasize again that this five-voter
minimum requirement denies blind and disabled voters the right to a truly
secret ballot.<span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;break-after:avoid;margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" align="center"><font size="2"><b><span style="line-height:107%">CRITICAL ERRORS BY THE SBE</span></b><span style="line-height:107%"><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="break-after:avoid;margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2">The experience of the 2016 primary and general
elections demonstrated that all voters had little difficulty in navigating the multiple
screens on the BMD. Although the concerns of the candidates were baseless, SBE still
refused to change its two-voter policy for the 2018 elections. SBE also chose
to disregard the concerns of disabled voters about their loss of the secret
ballot.<span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><span>The
National Federation of the Blind of Maryland (NFBMD) maintains that balancing
the rights of voters against the complaints of candidates does not justify a
system that:<span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><span>(1) </span><span>creates
physical segregation of voters with disabilities;<span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><span>(2) causes the segregation of their ballots according
to physical appearance and content;<span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><span>(3) jeopardizes the privacy of their votes. <span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><span>This was the reason language prohibiting a
segregated ballot was included in Maryland Election Law Article §9-102(f)(1),
Annotated Code of Maryland. <span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><span>We emphasize again that there were no reports
of voters having difficulty with navigation during the 2016 election season.
The issue of ballot order bias exists for both hand marked ballots and
BMDs.<span> </span>While most studies agree there is
a positive impact on candidates listed first, there is not a consensus on size
of the impact.</span><span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;break-after:avoid;margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" align="center"><font size="2"><b><span style="line-height:107%">FAILURE TO IMPLEMENT BMD USAGE POLICY<span></span></span></b></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="break-after:avoid;margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2">In the 2016 and 2018 elections, disabled voters were
deprived of the guarantee of a secret ballot that has always been afforded to
non-disabled voters.<span> </span>In the 2020 general
election, this problem continued for disabled voters who casted their ballot in
person. The SBE data from the 2016 and 2018 elections demonstrates that the
already inadequate SBE policy encouraging two voters in every precinct to use
the BMD was a failure.<span> </span>Given that
numerous polling locations were unable to compel even two individuals to use
the BMD, the Board’s policy change of five users of the BMD per polling
location will likewise fail.<span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2">In the 2016 general election, <span>twelve of the twenty-four counties or county
equivalents in Maryland had at least one precinct where only one voter used the
BMD.<span> </span>The SBE did not provide the data
for precincts with zero voters using the BMD.<span>
</span>See Appendix A for details.<span> </span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2">The loss of the secret ballot by disabled voters was even
worse in 2018 than it had been in 2016. Several primary elections were very
close, which resulted in the recounts of votes. The BMD ballots were definitely
identifiable during these recounts.<span> </span><span>In the
2018 primary election, nine counties had polling places where only one vote was
cast using the BMD. Once again, SBE did not provide the data for precincts with
zero voters using the BMD.<span> </span>See Appendix
B for details.<span> </span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><span>In the 2018 general election, nine counties had
at least one precinct where only one voter used the BMD machine.<span> </span>Nine counties also had at least one precinct
where zero voters used the BMD machine.<span>
</span>See Appendix C for details. <span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><span><span> </span>In
the 2020 general election, nine counties had at least one precinct where only
one voter used the BMD machine during the early voting period. <a name="_Hlk61006638">See Appendix D1 for details. </a>On election day itself, thirteen
counties had at least one precinct where only one voter used the BMD machine.
See Appendix D2 for details. Data was not available for the 2020 primary. <span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;break-after:avoid;margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" align="center"><font size="2"><b><span style="line-height:107%">CONCLUSION<span></span></span></b></font></p><font size="2">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="break-after:avoid;margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><font size="2"><span>The SBE violated Maryland Law by creating a
segregated ballot for persons with disabilities.<span> </span>It<span>
</span>also ignored the opinion of the Attorney General by creating policies
that did not permit true randomization of the use of BMDs by both disabled and
non-disabled voters.<span> </span>Consequently,
voters with disabilities who must use the BMD no longer have a secret
ballot.<span> </span>Although we brought these
problems to the attention of SBE, the General Assembly, and the Governor, they
took no action. Blind and disabled voters will still face segregation and the
loss of the secret ballot in future elections.<span>
</span>It is time for Maryland to go back to its practice of using one voting
system for all of its citizens who choose to vote in-person.<span> </span><span></span></span></font></p><font size="2">
<span style="line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Members
of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland urge the Maryland General
Assembly to enact legislation </span><span style="line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">that creates one voting system for all in-person
voters in Maryland.<span> </span>The Supreme Court ruled
that separate is not equal 66 years ago.<span>
</span>It is time for Maryland to recognize this truth by eliminating
discrimination against voters with disabilities.<span> </span></span><span style="line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">If the ballots of any other protected class of
citizen were identifiable, the General Assembly would surely insist that SBE
revise its policies. <span> </span>Blind and disabled
voters deserve the right to equality in voting and a secret ballot, too.</span></font>
</div><div><br></div><div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><b><font size="2">Sharon Maneki, Director of Legislation and Advocacy</font></b></div><div><font size="2">National Federation of the Blind of Maryland</font></div><div><font size="2">410-715-9596</font></div><div><font size="2"><br></font></div><div><font size="2">The National Federation of the Blind of Maryland knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Everyday we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.<br></font></div><div><b><font size="2"></font></b></div><div><b><font size="2"><br></font></b></div></div></div></div></div></div>