[NFBMT] Action Requested

[president at nfbofmt.org]

Hi All,

The NFB-MT opposes SB 291, the bill regarding accessible voting technology
for Montana elections.  We oppose the bill because it does not assure that
the ballots used by voters with disabilities be identical to the ballots
used by everyone else.  We adopted that policy through a resolution at our
2018 State Convention.  Please write the State Administration Committee in
the Montana Senate to oppose SB 291 unless it is amended accordingly.
Committee Members indicate they will support the changes we seek.  You can
send the Committee a message at this link:

https://leg.mt.gov/web-messaging/

Here is the text of the message that I just sent in.  Please feel free to
use my message to write yours.  Thanks much!

  My name is Jim Marks, and I am testifying as the President of the National
Federation of the Blind of Montana (NFB-MT).  The NFB-MT is a statewide
advocacy organization comprised of blind and visually impaired Montanans,
our families, and our friends.  We work together to assure that blind people
can live the lives we want.
  The NFB-MT opposes SB 291, but we would support the bill with a couple of
changes.  These are:
. Ballots used by people with disabilities should be identical to those used
by other voters.  When all ballots are the same, ballots cast by people with
disabilities avoid segregation or validity questions.  In addition,
non-compliant ballots threaten privacy.  Therefore, the NFB-MT only supports
voting technology that provides standard ballots.
. SB 291 addresses public policies that require the input of those affected
by the bill.  Therefore, the NFB-MT requests that our members be included in
the decision making.  In fact, we pledge to help with any part of the
process from selecting technology to training others on how to use the
technology.
  In closing, my voting story may help clarify what's at stake with SB 291.
The first time I voted, which was at the Broadwater County Courthouse, I was
18 years old.  Also at age 18, I learned that my eyesight was failing.  I
became legally blind at age 25.  I remember being excited by voting because
it was such a strong indicator of adulthood and self-determination.  I could
walk in, cast my ballot in a private booth, and know that I played a role in
my community.  As a blind voter, I lost the privacy I took for granted in my
first few elections.  For years, I either asked for another person of my
choosing to read and fill out my ballot, or I would ask polling place
workers to assist me.  Often, voting rules required two election officials
to assist me in unison.  I voted almost always not in a private booth, but
in a reasonably quiet spot on the margins of the polling place.  In 2002,
President George W. Bush signed into law the Help America Vote Act.  A few
short years later, the new law provided voting technology that allowed me to
vote independently and privately.  Words do not adequately describe the joy
I felt when I was finally able to cast my ballot as a blind citizen just as
I did when I was sighted so many years ago.  This is no small thing.  The
numbers of voters who require alternative methods of voting due to a
disability are small, but the strength of any system is measured not by the
small numbers, but rather by the respect and dignity of including all
Montanans in the elections.  Please help us preserve this self-determination
for all Montanans with disabilities.  Thank you.

Jim Marks
President, National Federation of the Blind of Montana
president at nfbofmt.org
(406) 438-1421