[NFBMT] Voting Problems

[president at nfbofmt.org]

Montana changed its voting laws during the 2017 Legislature to allow people
with disabilities to vote using a computer as an alternative to absentee or
vote-by-mail elections.  So, the very first time computers came into play in
Montana elections was in 2017.  Before then, people with disabilities had
only two other options:  Voting with an accessible voting machine or with a
human reader/scribe.  The method adopted by Montana requires printing an
electronic ballot and either mailing it in or dropping it off at your
election office or polling place.  

We first want the system that's in place to work as it should.  I do not
believe it does what it's supposed to do, and we need to change that.  I am
filing a complaint with the Secretary of State because I was denied the
method because it failed.

Second, we need to change Montana law so that the alternative voting method
does not require printing or mailing or dropping off the ballot.



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 d m gina via
NFBMT
Sent: Tuesday, June 9, 2020 6:28 PM
To: nfbmt at nfbnet.org
Cc: d m gina <dmgina at mysero.net>
Subject: Re: [NFBMT] Voting Problems

Ask Dan,
how did they vote the last time before this.
I thought it was from the computer.
Dar
Original message:
> We voted, but we took our absentee ballots down to the county 
> elections office and ran them through the AutoMARK.  I would have 
> loved to use the online voting system, but right now I don't have a 
> working printer.  If we didn't need to have a printer, I would use it 
> all the time.  I would love to help advocate for such a thing.  It is 
> becoming available in a few other states.  If we could advocate for 
> this and a touchscreen system that all could use, including the blind 
> and otherwise disabled, we would have the best of both worlds.  Joy

> -----Original Message-----
> From: NFBMT <nfbmt-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of president--- via 
> NFBMT
> Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2020 3:52 PM
> To: 'NFB of Montana Discussion List' <nfbmt at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: president at nfbofmt.org
> Subject: [NFBMT] Voting Problems

> Hi All,

> Did anyone vote in the most recent primary election using the 
> Secretary of State's (SOS) electronic balloting system?  That system 
> allows voters with disabilities to request and get an electronic 
> ballot in a writable PDF file that can be completed independently with 
> computer assistive technology, printed, and mailed to the local election
office.

> I tried, but I did not get the code and link to the PDF.  I have no 
> idea what went wrong, but I completed all the steps required to vote 
> this way.  I was supposed to get an e-mail back from my county 
> election office.  I never got that e-mail.  I am going to file a 
> complaint about this and see how to prevent a repeat of the error, 
> which I believe was a mistake or flaw in the system and not something I
did wrong.

> It sure would be great to hear if others were successful or not with 
> this process.  BTW, it was hard to find and complete the steps 
> necessary to vote this way.  For some reason, most of the directions 
> were in PDF files rather than the easier-to-use HTML format of 
> webpages.  The SOS says the method is hardly used, and now I think 
> there is a very good reason why most Montanans with disabilities don't 
> use this alternative voting system.  I gave it my best shot, and it 
> failed utterly.  We need to make voting this way a real option, including
changing things so that we do not have to print anything.

> Please get back to me on this list or privately.  Thanks much!



> 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.



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