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Fellow Federationists,<br><br>
I am pleased to tell you that, because of the efforts of the National
Federation of the Blind of Minnesota, Eve Hillan attorney with the law
offices of Brown, Goldstein, & Levy, and the Disability Law Center,
Minnesotans will be able to independently and privately fill out their
absentee ballots for the 2020 election. This is a victory for
accessibility and for blind people across the state, and I look forward
to our expanding it further in the coming years.<br><br>
In this email you will find relevant information on how to obtain your
accessible ballot, as well as additional items to be aware of when
mailing it in. You will note that, because this system is in its infancy,
there are parts of the process for which sighted assistance may still be
needed. The actual filling out of the ballot, however, can be done
independently.<br><br>
Those wishing to cast an accessible absentee ballot must first go through
the process of requesting a standard absentee ballot. This can be done at
<a href="http://www.mnvotes.org/absentee">www.mnvotes.org/absentee</a>.
Once you have requested your absentee ballot, you should
<a href="https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/find-county-election-office/?searchTerm=county%20elections">
contact your county auditor</a> to request an accommodation under the
Americans with Disabilities Act. (If you need help finding the contact
info for your county, you can call our office at 612-872-9363.) You will
receive your paper ballot in the mail, and you will be emailed a link to
the tool where you can fill out the accessible ballot. It is very
important that you return your ballot in the envelopes that came with
your paper ballot. <br><br>
The following information is taken directly from the secretary of State’s
office:<br><br>
"A voter using this system can use the tool to vote their ballot
independently, but will still have to complete the paper forms provided
by the county for the ballot return materials. In future elections
we hope to be able to incorporate these paper forms into the accessible
tool, but in order to get this deployed for the 2020 election, only the
ballot is available through this new accessibility tool.<br><br>
If you have questions about this process, you can contact the state’s
voter hotline at 651-215-1440 and ask to speak with Brad N or
Christine."<br><br>
<br><br>
For decades, the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota has been a
tireless advocate for independent, private voting. I am pleased that the
state has taken this crucial step toward full accessibility in the
vote-by-mail process, and I look forward to our continued partnership and
progress in the future.<br><br>
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.<br><br>
Warmly,<br><br>
Ryan<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
Ryan Strunk, President<br><br>
<a href="mailto:president@nfbmn.org">president@nfbmn.org</a><br><br>
<a href="http://www.nfb.org/" eudora="autourl">www.nfb.org</a><br><br>
<a href="http://www.nfbmn.org">www.nfbmn.org</a><br><br>
(612) 872-9363<br><br>
Live the life you Want.<br>
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