[NFBF-L] Vote by mail

Wed Apr 22 18:31:18 UTC 2020

Brian Norton, president of our Daytona Beach chapter, asked what the NFB’s position Is on accessible vote by mail which I commend him for. You can send a letter as an individual or wait as the NFBF might be reaching out to our members on this issue. Below my signature is a copy of President Riccobono’s letter sent to the Secretary of State for each state that currently does not provide an accessible way to vote-by-mail. 

Together, 
Denise Valkema, President  National Federation of the Blind of Florida 
(305)972-8529
president at nfbflorida.org
www.nfbflorida.org
Follow us @nfbflorida
You can live the life you want.

September 26, 2019

Dear Secretary: 

The National Federation of the Blind seeks to protect the rights of blind and low-vision voters, both at the polls and when absentee voting. It is vital to our democracy that all citizens are able toexercise the right to cast a secret ballot independently.Unfortunately, the right of many absentee voters with disabilities to mark their ballots privately and independently continues to be denied due to the implementation of inaccessible systems that require them to depend on others to assist them in the ballot-marking process. In advance of the 2020 elections, I am writing to remind you of your obligation, as required by federal law and recent court decisions, to provide voters with print disabilities an accessible way to privately and independently mark an absentee ballot.

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires states to ensure that voters with disabilities are offered an opportunity to vote—whether in person or by absentee ballot—that is equal to the opportunity offered to voters without disabilities. Thus, if all other voters can vote absentee privately and independently, voters with disabilities must be offered the same opportunity. Furthermore, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act states that public entities that receive federal financial assistance may not discriminate against people with disabilities in their programs, services, or activities. The law on this issue, particularly in the Fourth Circuit, is quite clear. In National Federation of the Blind v. Lamone, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the Maryland State Board of Elections violated Title II of the ADA and Section 504 by providing only a paper absentee ballot that was inaccessible to people with print and dexterity disabilities, while refusing to allow access to a ballot marking tool that would grant them the same opportunity provided to voters without disabilities to mark their absentee ballot independently (see the attached opinion).

The Fourth Circuit also noted that state law, such as a requirement that voting systems be certified, does not exempt “public entities from making otherwise reasonable modifications to prevent disability discrimination” because the “Constitution’s Supremacy Clause establishes that valid federal legislation can pre-empt state laws.” Id. at 508. The Sixth Circuit in the recent case, Hindel v. Husted, also found that certification procedures required by state law could not block enforcement of the ADA when it comes to the right to vote absentee on an equal basis. See Hindel v. Husted, 875 F.3d 344, 349 (6th Cir. 2017).

Currently, there are a number of accessible absentee ballot-marking systems available for use in US elections. The Maryland State Board of Elections makes its accessible ballot-marking tool available at no charge. Five Cedars, Democracy Live, Dominion Voting, and Prime III are examples of vendors that can also provide absentee ballot-marking systems. Many of these systems have now met Ohio and California’s certification requirements for election technology. Given the requirements of the ADA and Section 504, as well as the wide availability of accessible ballot marking systems, I strongly encourage you to implement such a system for use in the 2020 elections, and all subsequent federal, state, and local elections in which absentee voting is available. The National Federation of the Blind will be monitoring the availability of accessible absentee voting through our 2020 national blind voter survey, and subsequent surveys following each presidential general election.

Voters with disabilities must be considered as you design and plan your absentee voting process. Providing an accessible ballot-marking tool will guarantee that people with disabilities have an opportunity to cast their ballots privately and independently that is equal to the opportunity provided to voters without disabilities, as required by the ADA. The National Federation of the Blind is available as you consider the accessibility of your current absentee voting system. We welcome an opportunity to advise you on the development, or in the procurement process, of an accessible ballot-marking tool.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions, or if you need assistance with the implementation of accessible absentee voting. 

Sincerely,

Mark A. Riccobono, President
National Federation of the Blind

PLipovsky plipovsky at cfl.rr.com 
Fri Apr 17 01:12:26 
Hi all.

Below  is a sample letter I received regarding software that will enable
visually impaired people to vote in secret by mail should hey choose to.  ,
kind of like an absent t ballot.

You can used this letter to send to your supervisor of elections to
encourage hem to purchase his software once it becomes available.  Please
feel free to modify it as you wish.

Here it is.

Hello.  

I am the President of,    I am a member of    .  We are a grass roots
advocacy group working to advance the quality of life and independence of
Florida's blind citizens.

This organization have worked tirelessly over the past several years to
secure the Florida Division of Elections' certification of Vote by Mail
software that will assure visually impaired voters the ability to cast an
accessible secret mail in ballot by computer. 

The Democracy Live software voting system is now in use in an increasing
number of states and counties around the country and we are pleased that
Florida is about to approve the use of this voting system by Florida
counties.

As it stands now, in order for visually impaired voters to use the mail in
ballot process, we must have someone read the ballot to us, and we must then
tell them who we want to vote for.  This software voting system, when
certified by the Division of Elections, will end that situation and promote
full access to secrecy, privacy and verifiability by the blind voters who
choose to vote by mail. 

When the software is certified, we strongly urge County (fill in your county
name) Supervisor of Elections to immediately purchase the Democracy Live
Software for use in the upcoming 2020 primary and general election. 

I look forward to hearing from you regarding this matter and I am ready to
provide you with any additional information you might need.

Thank you.

Sincerely