<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Yes, we are very lucky to have Lisa. As we all know, she has always been ready and willing to work with the disabled community.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Thank you so very much Lisa, and a big thanks to Florida Council of the Blind for pushing this through.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>PL <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> Brian Norton <brian.edward.norton@outlook.com> <br><b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, July 28, 2020 7:40 AM<br><b>To:</b> PLipovsky <plipovsky@cfl.rr.com>; NFB of Florida Greater Daytona Beach Chapter List <nfbf-daytona@nfbnet.org><br><b>Cc:</b> dhall318@cfl.rr.com; ndbh16@gmail.com; Lisa Lewis <llewis@volusia.org>; Leonard Lempel <lempel7749@gmail.com>; Marilyn Baldwin <commmdb@aol.com>; ctate2076@att.net; merryschoch@verizon.net<br><b>Subject:</b> RE: State, advocacy group reach deal on blind voters<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Thanks Trish for posting this good news. I am glad Volusia has an knowledgeable and responsive election supervisor Lisa Lewis.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Gratefully,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Brian<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Brian</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> <b>Edward Norton<o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>National Federation of the Blind of Florida<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>NFBF Greater Daytona Beach President<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>NFBF Deaf Blind Division President<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>386.871.3359<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><a href="mailto:brian.edward.norton@outlook.com">brian.edward.norton@outlook.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>Apostle Paul:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;mso-line-height-alt:14.4pt'><em><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#222222'>We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.</span></em><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#222222'>2 Corinthians 4:18<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> PLipovsky <<a href="mailto:plipovsky@cfl.rr.com">plipovsky@cfl.rr.com</a>> <br><b>Sent:</b> Monday, July 27, 2020 8:17 PM<br><b>To:</b> PLipovsky <<a href="mailto:plipovsky@cfl.rr.com">plipovsky@cfl.rr.com</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> FW: State, advocacy group reach deal on blind voters<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>From WJXT<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:black'>TALLAHASSEE, Fla.</span></b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:black'> – 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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:black'>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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:black'>The agreement also requires statewide implementation of the process by March 2022.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:black'>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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:black'>“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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:black'>The agreement was finalized on the 30th anniversary of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, Dietz noted.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:black'>More than 500,000 Floridians are blind, and hundreds of thousands of others are print-impaired, he said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:black'>“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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:black'>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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:black'>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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Open Sans";color:black'>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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>