[NFBMT] Action Requested

[d m gina]

Thanks for helping me out.
I hope I picked the rite person.
When you have a list like that, it gets confusing.
I did write a message.
Thanks again.

Original message:
> 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



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