[Nfbmt] Disability Rights Ohio lawsuit claims Ohio Secretary of State’s voting services violate the ADA

Tue Dec 8 18:12:15 UTC 2015

For your information: See forwarded message below.  

I went to the Montana Secretary of State’s web site, sos.mt.gov/elections/Absentee/index.asp, which seems very accessible at first glance, and found the following information for Montana. 

Snip snip 

Voters with Disabilities

Montana's Statewide Elections have various options for voters with disabilities or voters who need special assistance:

◾

Every polling place in Montana has at least one specialized voting machine, called an AutoMARK, that enables people with disabilities to vote independently and privately.  If you cannot enter a polling place, election judges will assist you with "curbside voting". 

◾If you have a physical disability or are unable to read or write, you may ask an election judge to help you mark your ballot. Or, you can bring a friend or relative who, with the permission of the election judge, can go into the voting booth with you and help you vote.

◾You may also designate an agent to assist you with the voting process. Click here to download an application for designation of an agent. Deliver the signed application to your local election office. 

◾Beginning October 1, 2015, you may apply for an electronic ballot that can be marked on your personal computer, printed and returned to the election office.

◾The Voter Information Pamphlet published by the Secretary of State for each state general election is available in Braille and audio formats.

Snip snip 

Rather than go to the fairgrounds on election day, we usually try to get to the election office located in downtown great Falls beforehand and vote absentee there.  It is a lot easier for us to get to, and there are usually two voting machines there, at least one of which is usually working.  Someone is always there to fix it if it should malfunction.  

Joy Breslauer, President

National Federation of the Blind of Montana 

Address: P.O. Box 1325, Great Falls, MT 59403 

Phone: (406) 454-3096

Email:  <mailto:president at nfbofmt.org> president at nfbofmt.org

Web Site: www.nfbofmt.org

Live the life you want 

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

It’s TIME to Eliminate Subminimum Wages for People with Disabilities

http://www.nfb.org/TIME

Donate to the National Federation of the Blind of Montana <http://www.nfbofmt.org/donate.html> 

From: Kuhnke, Kristian 

Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2015 7:08 AM
Subject: Disability Rights Ohio lawsuit claims Ohio Secretary of State’s voting services violate the ADA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Stacy Brannan-Smith
Communications Specialist
Disability Rights Ohio
800-282-9181, ext. 101
sbrannan-smith at disabilityrightsohio.org

Chris Danielsen

Director of Public Relations

National Federation of the Blind

(410) 659-9314, extension 2330

cdanielsen at nfb.org

Disability Rights Ohio lawsuit claims Ohio Secretary of State’s voting services violate the ADA

December 8, 2015

COLUMBUS, OH – Disability Rights Ohio and the law firm of Brown, Goldstein, & Levy, LLP, have filed a federal lawsuit <http://www.disabilityrightsohio.org/sites/default/files/sites/default/files/u62/Hindel_v_Husted_complaint_12-7-15.pdf>  against the office of Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted. The suit, filed on behalf of three blind Ohio voters and the National Federation of the Blind, alleges that some voting services in Ohio are not accessible. This is in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Registered Ohio voters Shelbi Hindel, Barbara Pierce, and Marianne Denning are blind and unable to access important voting information and forms on the Secretary of State’s website because of the site’s inaccessible design and inability to work with screen access software. Additionally, because Ohio’s absentee ballots are only available on paper, blind voters are unable to fill them out without assistance—an infringement on their right to cast a ballot privately and independently. The suit asks the court to order Secretary of State Husted’s office to make the changes needed to rectify these problems before the March 15, 2016, primary election in Ohio.

“Voting is important to me, and I want to be able to read through the materials and be prepared for the upcoming Republican primary,” explains Hindel. “Current technology makes reading text easy for the blind, provided the text is available in the right format. My polling location recently moved to a site further from my house, so voting absentee is a more convenient way for me to exercise my right to vote.” 

According to Kristen Henry, attorney at Disability Rights Ohio, “Secretary of State Husted has the responsibility to ensure that all eligible Ohioans have equal access to the state’s voting systems and resources. The solutions for the problems we’re raising are readily available. Unfortunately, our attempts to collaborate with the state on this issue have not been successful.”

Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: “The technology to allow blind voters to mark absentee ballots privately and independently is available and has been used successfully by blind voters, myself included. This technology protects ballot secrecy and puts blind voters on an equal footing with all other voters, as well as helping voters who have disabilities in addition to blindness that prevent them from getting to a polling place or using the voter technology available there. The National Federation of the Blind will continue to fight for the right of blind people in Ohio and throughout the nation to vote privately and independently.”

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About Disability Rights Ohio: 

Disability Rights Ohio is the federally and state designated Protection and Advocacy System and Client Assistance Program for the state of Ohio. The mission of Disability Rights Ohio is to advocate for the human, civil and legal rights of people with disabilities in Ohio. Disability Rights Ohio provides legal advocacy and rights protection to a wide range of people with disabilities.

About the National Federation of the Blind: 

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

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