[NFBMT] NFB of Montana 2020 Resolutions

[BRUCE&JOY BRESLAUER]

These are the proposed resolutions to be presented to the assembled
membership and voted on at our 2020 virtual convention on Saturday, September
19.


Resolution 2020-01 Regarding Long-term Funding for NFB Newsline in Montana


WHEREAS, NFB Newsline provides blind Americans with critical information not
duplicated or matched from other sources, especially in the midst of the
COVID-19 pandemic; and

WHEREAS, The funding for NFB Newsline is less than forty thousand dollars a
year; and

WHEREAS, The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS)
abruptly terminated funding for NFB Newsline in June of 2019, leaving blind
and print-disabled Montanans without access to news and information that
other Montanans access with ease; and

WHEREAS, The National Federation of the Blind has temporarily funded NFB
Newsline during the pandemic, but this funding is unsustainable and has
ceased as of the end of August, 2020; and

WHEREAS, The National Federation of the blind of Montana consistently
advocates for the restoration of funding for NFB Newsline, with plans to use
state funding through vocational rehabilitation or telecommunications access
funding: NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in convention
assembled this nineteenth day of September, 2020, that this organization call
upon the Montana Governor and the legislature to fund NFB Newsline so that
all Montanans may have access to news and public information on an equal
basis with one another.


Resolution 2020-02 Regarding Accessible Mail-in and Online Voting in Montana


WHEREAS, The ability to cast a secret ballot privately and independently is a
cornerstone of our democracy that enables citizens to vote their consciences
with confidence; and

WHEREAS, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that
voters with disabilities be afforded an opportunity to exercise the right to
vote that is equivalent to the opportunity afforded to voters without
disabilities; and

WHEREAS, The use of mail-in ballots has increased substantially due to the
COVID-19 pandemic; and

WHEREAS, Montana's Governor Steve Bullock has said that ". no Montana voter
should have to choose between casting their vote and protecting their
health,"; and

WHEREAS, Electronic ballot delivery systems that meet the Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA, provide voters with print
disabilities an accessible way to mark a ballot privately and independently
using their own access technology; and

WHEREAS, While Montana has had the option to mark a ballot online since 2017,
the current electronic ballot delivery system is not accessible and cannot be
used by the blind without sighted assistance, since it requires the voter to
have access to a printer to print out, sign, and date the ballot and to
return it by regular mail; and

WHEREAS, Some states, such as Delaware and West Virginia, have electronic
ballot delivery systems that also allow marked ballots to be returned via
email: NOW THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Montana in
convention assembled this nineteenth day of September, 2020, that this
organization demand that an accessible way to vote by mail or online be
available to all Montana citizens with disabilities for all elections; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the state of Montana work together with the
National Federation of the Blind of Montana to implement an accessible online
ballot delivery system that will enable marked ballots to be returned via
email.

 

Joy Breslauer, Resolutions committee Chair

National Federation of the Blind of Montana 

Web Site: http://www.nfbofmt.org <http://www.nfbofmt.org/> 

 

Live the life you want

 

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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.