[New-York-News] Accessible absentee voting lawsuit settled

Wed Apr 6 18:05:29 UTC 2022

On Wed, Apr 6, 2022 at 10:41 AM Mike Robinson via New-York-News <
new-york-news at nfbnet.org> wrote:

>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> Litigation against New York State Board of Elections Resolved
> New York to Create Statewide Accessible Absentee Ballot Program
>
> New York, NY (April 5, 2022): The National Federation of the Blind of New
> York State, American Council of the Blind of New York, Inc., Center for
> Independence of the Disabled, New York, Disability Rights New York, and
> several New York voters with disabilities, including Rasheta Bunting, Karen
> Gourgey, Keith Gurgui, and Jose Hernandez —have settled the Americans with
> Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuit they brought against the New York State
> Board of Elections (NYSBOE) in 2020. A federal court has approved and
> ordered the terms of the settlement agreement, under which NYSBOE will
> create a statewide program allowing blind and disabled voters to fill out a
> remote, accessible vote-by-mail ballot online, print it out, and mail or
> return it to their county board of elections.
>
> The settlement requires NYSBOE to choose a remote accessible vote-by-mail
> (RAVBM) system that allows blind people and people with print disabilities
> to use their own computers to read and mark a ballot, using their own
> screen-reader software that converts the ballot content into spoken words
> or into Braille displayed on a connected device. NYSBOE must also create a
> statewide portal that voters can use to request an accessible absentee
> ballot and train each of the fifty-eight county boards of elections on the
> use of the RAVBM system. The county boards of elections will provide return
> envelopes for the ballots, just as they do for paper absentee ballots. The
> inside oath envelope into which the ballot is to be placed must have a
> tactile marking indicating where it is to be signed, and NYSBOE will
> instruct county boards of elections to accept a signature anywhere on the
> envelope. County boards will also be required to help voters who do not
> have their own printers to facilitate the printing of their ballots. NYSBOE
> will also pay attorney’s fees and costs of $400,000.
>
> Plaintiffs were represented by Disability Rights New York, Disability
> Rights Advocates, and Brown Goldstein & Levy, LLP.
>
> “DRNY is pleased that the absentee voting program is now more accessible.
> Through this agreement, the New York State Board of Elections has made it
> easier for people with print disabilities to vote with greater privacy and
> independence.  All voters need access to vote in order to have their voice
> heard in their local, state and federal elections.” -Timothy A. Clune,
> Executive Director, Disability Rights New York.
>
>
> “The National Federation of the Blind supports the right of blind,
> deafblind, and other disabled voters to mark their ballots privately and
> independently so that their right to a secret ballot is protected,” said
> Mike Robinson, President of the National Federation of the Blind of New
> York State. “We are pleased that the state of New York is taking these
> steps so that its blind and deafblind voters can exercise this
> constitutional right, which is fundamental to participation in our
> democracy.”
>
> “This ruling affirms that the right to vote is something that all people
> regardless of disability status should be able to fully exercise as their
> civil duty.  It will provide absentee voters access via an electronic
> platform for people with a myriad of disabilities, including but not
> limited to, visual, learning, and physical,” said Sharon McLennon-Wier,
> Ph.D., MSEd., CRC, LMHC, Executive Director of the Center for Independence
> of the Disabled, New York. “This is a great step forward in making sure
> that New Yorkers with disabilities are able to successfully cast their
> votes.”
>
> Karen Blachowicz, President of the American Council of the Blind, New York
> said, “we’re pleased that the state will provide consistent accessible
> absentee voting methods and supervision of every county board, so that
> every blind voter in New York can be confident of an accessible absentee
> vote.”
>
> “We will continue to fight for the fundamental right of people with
> disabilities to vote privately and independently,” said Christina
> Brandt-Young, Supervising Attorney at Disability Rights Advocates.
> ###
>
> About American Council of the Blind (ACB): The American Council of the
> Blind is a national grassroots consumer organization representing Americans
> who are blind and visually impaired. With 70 affiliates, ACB strives to
> increase the independence, security, equality of opportunity, and to
> improve quality of life for all blind and visually impaired people. Learn
> more by visiting www.acb.org.
> About Center for Independence of the Disabled, NY (CIDNY): The Center for
> Independence of the Disabled, NY’s goal is to ensure full integration,
> independence, and equal opportunity for all people with disabilities by
> removing barriers to the social, economic, cultural, and civic life of the
> community. Learn more about our work at www.cidny.org.
> About Disability Rights Advocates (DRA): Disability Rights Advocates is a
> leading national nonprofit disability rights legal center. Its mission is
> to advance equal rights and opportunity for people with all types of
> disabilities nationwide. DRA has a long history of enforcing the rights of
> voters with disabilities, including their rights to accessible voting
> machines, polling places, and online voter registration. Visit
> www.dralegal.org.
>
> About Disability Rights New York (DRNY): DRNY is the designated
> independent non-profit Protection & Advocacy System empowered by Congress
> to investigate allegations of abuse and neglect and provide legal and
> non-legal advocacy services to people with disabilities in New York State.
> The Protection & Advocacy System was created by Congress as a direct result
> of the horrific conditions that were uncovered in the 1970's at New York’s
> Willowbrook State School. DRNY is supported at tax payer expense by the
> U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, The Administration for
> Community Living; Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse &
> Mental Health Services Administration; U.S. Department of Education,
> Rehabilitation Services Administration; and, the Social Security
> Administration. This press release does not represent the views, positions
> or policies of, or the endorsements by, any of these federal agencies.
> Visit www.drny.org.
>
> About National Federation of the Blind (NFB): The National Federation of
> the Blind, headquartered in Baltimore, defends the rights of blind people
> of all ages and provides information and support to families with blind
> children, older Americans who are losing vision, and more. Founded in 1940,
> the NFB is the transformative membership and advocacy organization of blind
> Americans with affiliates, chapters, and divisions in the fifty states,
> Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. We believe in the hopes and dreams of blind
> people and work together to transform them into reality. Learn more about
> our many programs and initiatives. Learn more about our many programs and
> initiatives at www.nfb.org.
>
> CONTACTS:
> American Council of the Blind: Clark Rachfal, crachfal at acb.org,
> 202-467-5081
> Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York: Jeff Peters,
> jpeters at cidny.org, 646-442-4154
> National Federation of the Blind: Chris Danielsen, cdanielsen at nfb.org,
> 410-262-1281
> Disability Rights New York: Katrin Haldeman, katrin.haldeman at drny.org,
> 518-512-4929
> Disability Rights Advocates: Christina Brandt-Young,
> cbrandt-young at dralegal.org, 212-644-8644
> Brown Goldstein & Levy: Eve Hill, ehill at browngold.com, 202-802-0925
>
>
>
>
> Mike Robinson
> (716) 222-3632
> (716) 222-3NFB
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How is this different than what we’ve already had? The major problem is the
returning of the ballot and that is not available electronically that was
the problem.--
Julie PhillipsonJulie Phillipson
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