[NFBMT] ExpressVote: My Public Comment

[d m gina]

I have always been excited voting by the machine.
That way I could decide what I want to do and didn't tell anyone unless 
I wanted to.
We are treated well here in town Billings, where I do hope folks will 
come and vote.
We both would be glad to help anyone out that needs help

Original message:
> Hi All,

> I'm a little late passing this information along, but I attended the second
> day of the Montana Secretary of State certification of the state's new
> voting machines.  I also provided testimony during the event's public
> comment period on behalf of the NFB-MT.  Joy's description of her
> experiences doing the first day of the event is excellent.

> The new machine is a good one.  The only flaw is that it is awkward to
> submit a write-in vote using the machine.  Perhaps another is that the
> machine produces a non-standard ballot.  However, both Joy and I were
> surprised to learn that the new law passed by the 2019 Legislature and
> signed by the Governor permits the use of non-standard ballots.

> To vote privately, the NFB-MT advocates that all voters should be encouraged
> and enticed into using the voting machines.  If a significant number of
> voters use the machines, our privacy issues are  resolved.  I hope each of
> you advocates for making these machines part of the mainstream so that we
> avoid the trap of creating a disability-only voting option.  This point is
> huge if we are to be able to vote privately.

> In addition, election officials need to know how to use the machines and be
> ready to show voters how to use them.  Making sure election officials do
> their duty is equally important for the sake of the best accessibility
> possible.

> Lastly, the NFB-MT must be at the table when state and local government
> officials are making decisions that concern us.  In my testimony, I stressed
> this because the Secretary of State showed us little regard.  They even held
> the public comment period at the end of the certification event, which
> mostly consisted of a few hours of demonstration and many boring hours of
> testing the voting machines and the electronic tallying devices.  It would
> have been far more respectful to hold the public comment before the testing
> portion of the certification event.  To be clear, I do not believe there was
> any malice in the disrespect, but we all know the road to hell is paved with
> good intentions and low expectations.  We matter, and it's high time
> government realizes this fact.

> Yes, we will discuss voting at our upcoming convention at the Missoula
> Fairbirdge Inn on October 11 and 12.  Hope to see each of you there.  It's
> going to be a powerful event, and I'm very excited about it.


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

> -----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/>



> Live the life you want



> The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends
> who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day we work
> together to help blind people live the lives they want.



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