[NFBMT] Corey Stapleton

Tue Feb 18 16:16:38 UTC 2020

And now for the rest of the story.  In 2019, the Secretary of State (SOS)
initiated legislation to improve accessibility and privacy for voters with
disabilities, but he did so without asking for advice from the NFB-MT or
other disability advocacy groups.  We pretty much crashed his party with our
concerns, not the least of which was that no government official should act
for us without us.  It does not matter if the intentions were good --- We
believe the SOS meant well --- but our voice has to be primary when it comes
to the self-determination of blind Montanans.  Fortunately, the SOS was open
to our intervention, and we even got assurances that we will be included in
the future.  We also were able to tweak the legislation.  In fact, Joy
Breslauer and I spoke about a week or so ago in Great Falls to the state
gathering of Montana election officials as guest speakers of the SOS.  We
talked about such things as mainstreaming voting machines so it's not merely
voters with disabilities using them, voter privacy, and adequate preparation
of polling sites and devices.  Beth Brenneman from Disability Rights Montana
joined us.  So, our SOS office certainly deserves a pat on the back, but
it's very important to recognize that we would be nothing more than the
objects of SOS good works without our standing up and insisting on our full
and equitable participation.

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

You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBMT [mailto:nfbmt-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of BRESLAUERS via
NFBMT
Sent: Sunday, February 16, 2020 6:34 AM
To: nfbmt <nfbmt at nfbnet.org>
Cc: BRESLAUERS <breslauerj at gmail.com>; mtparents <nfbmt-parents at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [NFBMT] Corey Stapleton

Montana Quietly Leading The Way

by Corey Stapleton

________________________________________

Bold is in. Drama is king. Audacity is cool.

But when it comes to managing Montana's election systems, we have taken a
different tack.  

Our office has been thoughtful.  Quietly, we have improved nearly every
aspect of running Montana elections.

When my administration began in 2017, we changed the name of the Secretary
of State's election division from 'Election and Government Services' to
'Election and Voter Services'.  Our changed focus from government to voters
was intentional.  Every day, we place the interests of voters first.

For fifteen years, nobody in Montana had been able to solve what to do with
the AutoMARK voting kits.  Every county clerk in Montana had these aging,
bulky election machines which were rarely used.  AutoMARKs had never lived
up to the hype of adequately serving the disability community.

We solved the AutoMARK problem.  I crafted compromise legislation which
bridged the needs of the disability community with an acceptable physical
ballot.  This was huge.  This paved the way for using lighter, modern voting
machines in Montana, and we provided money to all 56 counties for purchasing
at least one new machine per local precinct.

That was a big story of compromise you likely never heard.

This year, we've continued to invest money directly into Montana's local
election offices.  Every single county has increased security via two-factor
authentication, and every county has opportunities (and funding from our
Office) to upgrade technology.

In three short years I have directed $2.6 million to Montana counties.  We
have increased the security of elections, increased the integrity of mail
ballots, promoted high voter turnout, maintained valuable communication and
respect with Indian reservations, and worked tirelessly with legislators,
National Guard, and the Department of Homeland Security.

Quietly, we've gone on about our business.  And our business?  Serving you!

Sincerely,

Corey Stapleton

Montana Secretary of State

The Mission of the Office of the Secretary of State is to help commerce
thrive, promote democracy, and record history for future generations.

State Capitol Building 

1301 E. 6th Avenue 

Helena, MT 59601  

406.444.2034

sosmt.gov  

Joy Breslauer, First Vice President

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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