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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Vote by Mail Ballot Now Accessible to Blind Coloradans<br>by Curtis Chong<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> From the Editor: when many of us think of Curtis Chong, we think of his stellar work as the director of technology at the National Federation of the Blind and his longtime leadership of the National Federation of the Blind Computer Science Division. But Curtis cannot be pigeonholed by technology. He is a Federationist who participates in every aspect of the organization, and here is what he has to say about voting in Colorado:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> There are four states in this country where elections are held entirely by mail. These include Oregon (2000), Washington (2011), Colorado (2013), and Hawaii (2019). Every registered voter receives a ballot in the mail. The voter marks the ballot, puts it in a secrecy envelope or sleeve and then into a separate mailing envelope, signs an affidavit on the exterior of the mailing envelope, and returns the package via mail or by dropping the package off at an authorized location or drop box. Think of this as an absentee ballot for everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> A blind Coloradan who cannot see the printed mail ballot must either find someone to help mark the ballot (hardly a secret ballot in this case) or travel to a polling facility where the accessible equipment might or might not work. Even if the equipment at the polling facility does work, most of us are nowhere as familiar with the voting system's nonvisual access technology as we are with the technology we use on our smart phones and computers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> Following on the heels of Maryland and New Mexico, the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado determined that the time had come for the printed mail ballot to be accessible to the blind and other voters with disabilities. With the incredible help and support of our good friend Senator Jessie Danielson, SB19-202 was adopted by the Colorado General Assembly without any opposition, $50,000 was appropriated, and on May 29, the bill was signed into law by Colorado Governor Jared Polis. SB19-202 states, in relevant part:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:.5in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>"The secretary of state shall establish procedures to enable a voter with a disability to independently and privately mark a ballot or use an electronic voting device that produces a paper record using nonvisual access, low-vision access, or other assistive technology in order for the voter to vote in a mail ballot election…The procedures shall include a method, to be determined by the secretary of state, by which a voter with a disability may request such a ballot…A voter with a disability who receives a ballot pursuant to this subsection…must print the ballot sent by electronic transmission and such ballot must be received by the election official in the applicable jurisdiction before the close of polls on the day of the election."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> As any blind person who has worked with websites knows, it is not a given that a particular site will work well with our screen reading and magnification technology. Hence, we determined early on that we should prevail upon the Colorado Secretary of State to involve our members in the testing of the system before it was rolled out to the public. A number of our members had a chance to test the system. We identified a few problems, and most of them were addressed in time for the statewide coordinated election held on November 5. We are confident that by the time of the primary election on March 3, 2020, all of the issues we have identified will be fixed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> Unlike the online ballot-marking tools in Maryland and New Mexico, the Colorado system gives voters with disabilities immediate access to the ballot as soon as printed ballots are sent out in the mail. The voter goes to a specific website, provides verifying credentials, and is presented with the online ballot. There is no waiting for a link to the ballot to be emailed. Once the ballot has been marked and reviewed, the voter prints both the ballot and the ballot application. While the ballot application is filled out by the online system, the voter still has to sign it. Some voters might need help with the signing process, but the secrecy of the ballot is still maintained.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> For those people who say that there is a problem for anyone who doesn't have access to a printer, I have found that (at least in Windows) the printing of the ballot and accompanying ballot application can be saved as two separate PDF files. These files can then be copied to a flash drive. You can take the flash drive to a facility with a computer and a printer.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> In conclusion, I would be pleased to share any and all information with anyone who wants to make the printed mail or absentee ballot accessible in his/her state. There are financial and technical considerations involved in doing this, but the overall impact to a state's budget is, as I see it, negligible. The important principle to keep in mind is prior testing before implementation. Be sure that real live blind voters have an opportunity to try the system before it goes live and work actively with the people who are involved with the design, development, and support of this new system. In this way, you can ensure that whatever is rolled out will be both accessible and usable.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>----------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Voting Letter to Secretaries of State<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>by Lou Ann Blake<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> From the Editor: Lou Ann Blake is the very active and visible person at our national headquarters who monitors the enforcement of the Help America Vote Act. From other articles that have appeared here, you will remember that she is a person with tremendous knowledge about voting options for blind people and a very passionate advocate to see that we can vote privately, independently, and anonymously. Here is what she says:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> Currently, the majority of states do not provide blind and low-vision voters with an accessible way to mark an absentee ballot. As an activity under our Help America Vote Act (HAVA) grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services, we recently sent a letter to the secretary of state for these states to remind them of their obligation to provide accessible absentee voting as required by Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and recent court decisions in cases brought by the NFB in Maryland and Ohio. The letter is printed here for your information. If you receive any feedback from your secretary of state or state elections officials in response to this letter, or if you have questions about accessible absentee voting, please contact Lou Ann Blake, deputy director of Blindness Initiatives at lblake@nfb.org or 410-659-9314, extension 2221.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>September 27, 2019 <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Dear Secretary: <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> The National Federation of the Blind seeks to protect the rights of blind and low-vision voters, both at the polls and when absentee voting. It is vital to our democracy that all citizens are able to exercise the right to cast a secret ballot independently. Unfortunately, the right of many absentee voters with disabilities to mark their ballots privately and independently continues to be denied due to the implementation of inaccessible systems that require them to depend on others to assist them in the ballot-marking process. In advance of the 2020 elections, I am writing to remind you of your obligation, as required by federal law and recent court decisions, to provide voters with print disabilities an accessible way to privately and independently mark an absentee ballot. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires states to ensure that voters with disabilities are offered an opportunity to vote—whether in person or by absentee ballot—that is equal to the opportunity offered to voters without disabilities. Thus, if all other voters can vote absentee privately and independently, voters with disabilities must be offered the same opportunity. Furthermore, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act states that public entities that receive federal financial assistance may not discriminate against people with disabilities in their programs, services, or activities. The law on this issue, particularly in the Fourth Circuit, is quite clear. In National Federation of the Blind v. Lamone, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the Maryland State Board of Elections violated Title II of the ADA and Section 504 by providing only a paper absentee ballot that was inaccessible to people with print and dexterity disabilities, while refusing to allow access to a ballot marking tool that would grant them the same opportunity provided to voters without disabilities to mark their absentee ballot independently (see the attached opinion). Ballot-marking tools allow voters to mark an electronic version of the absentee ballot on devices such as computers, tablets, or smartphones. No votes are cast electronically; voters must still print and mail in their ballots to have their votes counted. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> The Fourth Circuit explained that the opportunity to mark an absentee ballot privately and independently was a benefit that the Maryland State Board of Elections provided to voters without disabilities but denied voters with disabilities on the basis of their disability. It was of no consequence that Maryland made other methods of voting, like in-person voting, available to voters with disabilities on an equal basis. The right to vote absentee privately and independently was a distinct benefit, and the denial of this opportunity was “precisely the sort of harm the ADA seeks to prevent.” Nat’l Fed’n of the Blind v. Lamone, 813 F.3d 494, 506 (4th Cir. 2016). The opinion further states “that by effectively requiring disabled individuals to rely on the assistance of others to vote absentee, defendants have not provided plaintiffs with meaningful access to Maryland’s absentee voting program.” Id. at 507. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> The Fourth Circuit also noted that state law, such as a requirement that voting systems be certified, does not exempt “public entities from making otherwise reasonable modifications to prevent disability discrimination” because the “Constitution’s Supremacy Clause establishes that valid federal legislation can pre-empt state laws.” Id. at 508. The Sixth Circuit in the recent case, Hindel v. Husted, also found that certification procedures required by state law could not block enforcement of the ADA when it comes to the right to vote absentee on an equal basis. See Hindel v. Husted, 875 F.3d 344, 349 (6th Cir. 2017). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> Currently, there are a number of accessible absentee ballot-marking systems available for use in US elections. The Maryland State Board of Elections makes its accessible ballot-marking tool available at no charge. Five Cedars, Democracy Live, Dominion Voting, and Prime III are examples of vendors that can also provide absentee ballot-marking systems. Many of these systems have now met Ohio and California’s certification requirements for election technology. Given the requirements of the ADA and Section 504, as well as the wide availability of accessible ballot marking systems, I strongly encourage you to implement such a system for use in the 2020 elections, and all subsequent federal, state, and local elections in which absentee voting is available. The National Federation of the Blind will be monitoring the availability of accessible absentee voting through our 2020 national blind voter survey, and subsequent surveys following each presidential general election. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> Voters with disabilities must be considered as you design and plan your absentee voting process. Providing an accessible ballot-marking tool will guarantee that people with disabilities have an opportunity to cast their ballots privately and independently that is equal to the opportunity provided to voters without disabilities, as required by the ADA. The National Federation of the Blind is available as you consider the accessibility of your current absentee voting system. We welcome an opportunity to advise you on the development, or in the procurement process, of an accessible ballot-marking tool. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions, or if you need assistance with the implementation of accessible absentee voting. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Sincerely, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Mark A. Riccobono, President <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>National Federation of the Blind <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Steve Cook<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LddWwCJNPHI"><span style='color:#0563C1'>Click here to view the PSA for the National Federation of the Blind of SC</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.nfbofsc.org"><span style='color:#0563C1'>www.nfbofsc.org</span></a><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://m.facebook.com/NatFedofSouthCarolina/"><span style='color:#0563C1'>Follow the National Federation of the Blind of SC On Face Book</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.rockybottomofsc.com/index/index.php"><span style='color:#0563C1'>www.RockyBottomofSC.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://m.facebook.com/RockyBottomofSC/"><span style='color:#0563C1'>Follow Rocky Bottom Retreat & Conference Center on Face Book</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://m.facebook.com/Computer-Science-Technology-Division-of-the-NFB-of-SC-343263089815304/"><span style='color:#0563C1'>Follow the Computer Science & Technology Division of SC on Face Book</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>District 2 NFB of SC State Board Member<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>1<sup>st</sup> Vice President of the Computer Science & Technology Division of the NFB of SC<span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>Board Member at Large of the Columbia Chapter of the NFB of SC<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>