<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings;
panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:1565949318;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:2147252962 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l0:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level4
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level5
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l0:level6
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level7
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level8
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l0:level9
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'><b>From the Desk of Joe Ruffalo, President, National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'><b>Submitted by Ellen Sullivan, Affiliate Secretary<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'>Greetings,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'> Below you will find the minutes for our Town Hall Meeting about Accessible Vote by mail. Special thanks to all our participants and to Linda Melendez for co-hosting and moderating the meeting. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'>Warmly, Joe<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'><b>Meeting Minutes:<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Subject: Town Hall Meeting; The National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey Sponsored a Town Hall Meeting about Accessible vote via mail with:<o:p></o:p></p><ul style='margin-top:0in' type=disc><li class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;line-height:106%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Charlie Munford and Aaron Wilson, VotingWorks<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;line-height:106%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Mary Ciccone, Director of Policy/CAP & PAVA Coordinator, Disability Rights New Jersey<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;line-height:106%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Lou Ann Blake, Executive Director, Blindness Initiatives NFB<o:p></o:p></li></ul><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'>The meeting was held to clarify how the voting by mail procedures in the July primary election will work for all New Jerseyeans.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Date/Time: Monday, June 22, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. The meeting started promptly at 11:00 a.m.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Media: Zoom<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Host: Joe Ruffalo, President of the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey (NFBNJ)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Co-host and moderator: Linda Melendez, 1<sup>st</sup> Vice President, NFBNJ<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Attendees: Approximately 25 members, friends, and assistive technology specialists<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'>Note: This call was recorded and will be available for your listening pleasure on <a href="http://www.nfbnj.org"><span style='color:#0563C1'>www.nfbnj.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'><b>Summary:<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>President Ruffalo thanked everyone for being on the call and emphasized how essential voting rights are to all Americans, President Ruffalo, an Army Veteran, said “we fought wars for this right”. The purpose of this meeting is to clarify how accessible voting for the primary election will be handled in New Jersey.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Governor Murphy’s May 15, 2020 Executive Order No. 144 requires the County Clerk to send all Unaffiliated and Inactive Democratic and Republican registered voters a Vote-by-Mail Ballot application for the upcoming July 7, 2020 Primary Election. This order was issued as a result of the coronarvirus pandemic. (More information about the Governor’s Order will be attached to the end of these minutes).<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'><b>Meeting Details:<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Charlie Munford represented Sales and Outreach for the non-profit vendor VotingWorks has worked to assure an accessible vote by mail product is available to assist disabled people all across America. His colleague Aaron Wilson is a technical specialist who built a product seven years ago to assist in this accessible voting effort. Their product provides a secure portal for voters with disabilities to complete a private ballot from their own electronic equipment with the necessary accessibility features they require. The voter then prints the ballot and mails it in.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Mary Ciccone from Disability Rights of New Jersey has been working with the Division of Elections to protect the voting rights of disabled people for many years. New Jersey has made its “No excuse to vote” ballot a paper ballot and Mary wants to make it accessible and thus reached out to the NFBNJ to discuss accessibility needs of the blind. The Governor allowed municipal elections in May to include a vote by mail option and Mary and her staff are supporting efforts to make all elections in New Jersey accessible to disabled individuals.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>President Ruffalo introduced NFBNJ member Tracy Carcione and called her the “Danielle Boone” of accessible voting for New Jersey Blind. Back in May, Tracy contacted her County Board of Elections (Bergen) to figure out how to enable her to vote from home in an accessible manner. The Board of Elections sent her an email that included a link and a pin that allowed her to access a voting ballot that was very clear for her to read and understand. She had the options to “Print” or send it directly to the “Board of Elections”. Since Tracy does not have a printer she opted to submit her ballot electronically. She also copied her ballot onto a thumb drive to take it to a UPS store for printing a paper copy in the event this was needed. She did not need to print her ballot and mail it in and is ready to do so if this is required for the November elections.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Charlie Munford commented that---“this is how easy accessible voting should be.” The process starts with contacting your local Board of Elections to get access to a secure website and pin that allows you to download software to your computer (enables all your accessibility features) and you complete your ballot. This should be offered to all voters. This is the goal of VotingWorks. “We are like a tech start up company” we want to hear about your problems so we can work across the country to help solve them. Charlie commented that the process Tracy described was like “The Democracy Live System” that is no longer available and has been replaced with a system whose software is downloaded directly to your computer however, it does require a printed ballot to be mailed in—as this is a current requirement of the law.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Lou Ann Blake is knowledgeable about the VotingWorks software and discussed the history of HAVA (Help America Vote Act) which only applies to in-person voting. She is advocating for electronic voting for the blind by relying on Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) . She contends that absentee ballots have been around a long time to enable military personnel to vote electronically.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>President Ruffalo commented that all voting sites in New Jersey will be open on July 7 and encouraged all blind members to familiarize themselves with the ballot. He reminded those who are not registered to a party that they must reach out to their County Board of Elections to have an absentee ballot sent to them if they are unable to go personally to their polling location.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Linda Melendez thanked President Ruffalo, Mary, Tracy, Lou Ann, Charlie, and Aaron for their participation and opened the floor for Questions and Answers:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Q: Some households have received mail in ballots for people who have moved and/or died. What is to prevent someone from using these.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>A: Mary Ciccone said that for people who have moved—just return the ballot. If a family member died call the Board of Elections and have them taken off the roll (you will need a death certificate to do this). Voting fraud by mail is essentially non-existent (i.e. 0 .001% incident) and the states of Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington have been doing this for years without problems. Presently, New Jersey is not planning to do a full vote by mail for the November elections so if you want this option you need to reach out to your County Clerk, and it may necessitate writing letters to the Board of Elections. Mary said anyone needing additional assistance please reach out to her at:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'><a href="mailto:mciccone@drnj.org"><span style='color:#0563C1'>mciccone@drnj.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>1 800 922 7233<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Curtis Chong now lives in Colorado and has been involved in assistive technology for the blind for many years. He shared that in the last three elections he was able to use an accessible voting system by mail.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Q: A concern was expressed that the vote by mail system in New Jersey requires the printing and mailing of a paper ballot. Many people don’t have printers and do not know how to get their ballot printed. We need a way to submit votes without the requirement of a printed ballot. In November elections will blind voters have a way to “test the system” to assure it is accessible to them?<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>A: Mary Ciccone said that usually the Board of Elections sends out a sample ballot however, this was not done in the primary. Mary said the state was sued for accepting electronic returns and that is why they want a printed ballot. There has been no discussion about “testing the system” and we need to advocate for this.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Q: The vote by mail process with the two envelopes is cumbersome and confusing for the blind what happens if we make a mistake—will our vote still be counted?<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>A: Mary Ciccone emphasized the importance of “following the rules” when returning your primary printed ballot. Seek help if you need it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Comment: If the blind needs to spend so much time and in the end must rely on the help of a sighted person it sounds like it will be easier to just vote in person.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Q: Does every vote get counted if the winner is already declared overwhelmingly?<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>A: Yes, every vote is counted. They cannot discount a mailed in ballot. Biggest issue is with signature matches when the mail in vote does not match your registration. Votes are no longer being discounted for this reason. An effort is being made to contact the voter to understand the reason for the discrepancy in signatures.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Q: Has VotingWorks tested their accessible voting software on all web browsers?<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>A: Aaron Wilson said yes. We have tested it on all the web platforms including phones with the exception of legacy browsers like Internet Explorer.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Q: If we need to download our ballot to a thumb drive will there be instructions for this?<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>A: This is not currently available and is a good suggestion.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Q: Asked for clarification of the accessible vote by mail process and if more than one ballot could be put into an envelope and mailed. Commented that we need to get to a place where there is real accessible voting.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>A: All ballots need to me mailed individually. The comment is correct.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Q: If you use a computer to mark your ballot how does electronic signatures work? <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>A: Electronic signatures are not required for July primaries. All vote by mail ballots include a self-addressed and stamped envelope for mailing.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>President Ruffalo thanked everyone on the call and special thanks to our guests.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>The meeting was adjourned at 12:04 p.m.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'>Minutes respectfully submitted by Ellen Sullivan, Affiliate Secretary, NFBNJ<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'>Reviewed by Joe Ruffalo, President and Linda Melendez, First Vice President, NFBNJ<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'>*******<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:106%'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>From the Governor's Office:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>In light of the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Governor Murphy signed Executive Order No. 144 on May 15, 2020 which requires the County Clerk to send all Unaffiliated and Inactive Democratic and Republican registered voters a Vote-by-Mail Ballot application for the upcoming July 7, 2020 Primary Election. You will receive an application because you are a registered Unaffiliated voter or a voter with an Inactive status that is entitled to vote in the July 7, 2020 Primary Election.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>Because New Jersey is a closed Primary Election state, in order to receive a ballot, an Unaffiliated voter must choose to be affiliated with the Democratic or Republican party to receive that Party’s Vote by Mail Ballot. You may return to an Unaffiliated status following the Primary Election by completing and returning a Party Declaration Form to your County Commissioner of Registration.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>A voter may apply for a Mail-In Ballot by mail up to 7 days prior to the election. He or she may also apply in person to the County Clerk prior to 8 P.M. the day of the election.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'>To contact your county Commissioner of Voting:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:106%'> <a href="https://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/primary-election-070720.shtml"><span style='color:#0563C1'>https://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/primary-election-070720.shtml</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>