[NFBF-Daytona] [EX] RE: State, advocacy group reach deal on blind voters

[Lisa Lewis]

Thank you Brian. It truly is my pleasure to give everyone an opportunity
to cast their ballot in private; especially during this pandemic.

I will be in touch when we have all in place and implemented.

Lisa
>>> Brian Norton <brian.edward.norton at outlook.com> 7/28/2020 7:40 AM
>>>
Thanks Trish for posting this good news. I am glad Volusia has an
knowledgeable and responsive election supervisor Lisa Lewis.
Gratefully,
Brian
BrianEdward Norton
National Federation of the Blind of Florida
NFBF Greater Daytona Beach President
NFBF Deaf Blind Division President
386.871.3359
brian.edward.norton at outlook.com
Apostle Paul:
We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.
2 Corinthians 4:18
 
 
 
From: PLipovsky <plipovsky at cfl.rr.com> 
Sent: Monday, July 27, 2020 8:17 PM
To: PLipovsky <plipovsky at cfl.rr.com>
Subject: FW: State, advocacy group reach deal on blind voters
 
>From WJXT
 
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A deal finalized over the weekend will allow blind
voters to fill out ballots secretly at home, putting an end to a broader
legal tangle over Florida’s vote-by-mail processes.
The deal, finalized Sunday by the Florida Council of the Blind and
Secretary of State Laurel Lee, will require five counties -- Miami-Dade,
Nassau, Orange, Pinellas and Volusia -- to implement a program allowing
blind and print-impaired voters to fill out ballots online.
 
The agreement also requires statewide implementation of the process by
March 2022.
The five counties agreed to have the system in time for the Nov. 3
elections, according to Florida Council of the Blind lawyer Matthew
Dietz.
“Voting by secret ballot is essential to the integrity of the electoral
process as it allows voters to cast their ballot without fear or
intimidation,” Dietz said in a prepared statement Monday.
The agreement was finalized on the 30th anniversary of the federal
Americans with Disabilities Act, Dietz noted.
More than 500,000 Floridians are blind, and hundreds of thousands of
others are print-impaired, he said.
“For my clients who are blind, and those with other print disabilities
who need to use technology to complete a ballot, a paper ballot did not
allow them the same benefits and privileges of every other citizen. This
settlement provides the means to do so,” Dietz said.
The issue was part of a broader legal case in which the groups
Priorities USA and Dream Defenders and other plaintiffs sought to make
changes to help expand voting by mail. The plaintiffs sought to extend a
deadline for mail-in ballots to be returned to elections supervisors and
wanted free postage for absentee ballots. They also challenged a
provision in Florida law restricting paid workers from collecting
mail-in ballots. But the day before a trial was slated to begin last
week, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle signed off on a settlement.
Under the settlement, Lee will “educate” and “encourage” county
supervisors of elections about a variety of vote-by-mail procedures that
were at the heart of the case. For example, the state’s top elections
official will be required to educate supervisors about pre-paid postage
for mail-in ballots.
The settlement also will encourage local elections officials “to
maximize the use of drop boxes for vote-by-mail ballots” and to inform
voters about the availability of the ballot drop-off sites.
 
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