[NFBMT] ExpressVote: My Public Comment

Thu Aug 29 17:18:59 UTC 2019

Joy,

Does the Express Vote machine look different than a regular voting machine
for the public besides the tactile keypad & audio output?  Why can't they
design an accessible machine that has the same size ballots as everyone
else?  In Corvallis the machine is away from the other machines.  Is every
machine in the room going to be the Express vote machine?  If not then
people will know it is for people with disabilities.  I don't know how many
machines are at each polling place.  Every time we have gone to vote it is
very busy.  Whoever makes these machines do they consult anyone with a
disability or do they just make sure it is ADA compliant?  I'm sorry for so
many questions but this is what I thought about after hearing your
experience testing the machine in Helena.

We should probably talk about this at state convention & see who we need to
contact with our feedback & questions.

Denise

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBMT <nfbmt-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of BRUCE&JOY BRESLAUER via
NFBMT
Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2019 10:02 PM
To: soselections at mt.gov
Cc: BRUCE&JOY BRESLAUER <breslauerj at gmail.com>
Subject: [NFBMT] ExpressVote: My Public Comment

I was at the ExpressVote demonstration in Helena on Monday, August 26, 2019,
where I was introduced to the ExpressVote by ES&S, which will replace the
AutoMARK for voters with disabilities.  

I was impressed with the machine.  As a voter with a disability, my concerns
stem from the fact that I want my voting rights to privacy, secrecy, and
security protected, just like any other citizen does.  The ballots used for
the ExpressVote are not the same size as standard ballots, which means to me
that those ballots can potentially be identified as having been cast by a
person with a disability.  That is why I think it is imperative that the
officials at the polling places incentivize the use of the ExpressVote
machines by every voter, not just those with disabilities.  Don't stick them
off in a corner somewhere where nobody can see them or know where they are.
Provide a privacy screen for the voter.  Make sure the election officials
know how to use the machines, and know how to instruct any voter how to use
them.  My vote should pass secretly from my hand to the privacy envelope to
the ballot box, with no other hands or eyes or minds interfering.  This is
the right of every voter, including me, a right that most people take for
granted and which I have had to fight for and have only enjoyed for the past
eight or ten years.  I have not missed an election for anything since I was
old enough to vote, and I cherish that right and privilege.

 I also would respectfully suggest that if any decisions concerning people
with disabilities are made without consulting us about what we need or want,
that is disrespectful and harmful.  I know these machines were put through
an ADA certification process, but I as an American citizen was not
consulted.
Someone without a disability should never make assumptions about what
someone with a disability may need or want or prefer without asking us
first.  It is unconscionable that we were left out of the process.  Please
keep that in mind when making any future decisions concerning American
citizens with disabilities.  We will not stand for being treated like second
class citizens.  Nothing about us without us. 

Joy Breslauer, First Vice President, and Advocacy and Public Policy
Committee chair 

National Federation of the Blind of Montana 

Web Site: http://www.nfbofmt.org <http://www.nfbofmt.org/> 

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