Outstanding!!<br><br><div id="__aol_mail_signature__">Emily W Gindlesperger<br>skewbdobdo@verizon.net<br></div>
<br><div class="aolmail_replyHeader">
On Friday, August 21, 2020, Joseph Drenth via NFBP-Talk <nfbp-talk@nfbnet.org> wrote:
</div><br>
<blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 9px;padding:0 0 0 9px;"><div id="yiv1865767126"><style><!--
#yiv1865767126
_filtered {}
_filtered {}
#yiv1865767126
#yiv1865767126 p.yiv1865767126MsoNormal, #yiv1865767126 li.yiv1865767126MsoNormal, #yiv1865767126 div.yiv1865767126MsoNormal
{margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri", sans-serif;}
#yiv1865767126 a:link, #yiv1865767126 span.yiv1865767126MsoHyperlink
{color:#0563C1;text-decoration:underline;}
#yiv1865767126 a:visited, #yiv1865767126 span.yiv1865767126MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:#954F72;text-decoration:underline;}
#yiv1865767126 p.yiv1865767126msonormal0, #yiv1865767126 li.yiv1865767126msonormal0, #yiv1865767126 div.yiv1865767126msonormal0
{margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri", sans-serif;}
#yiv1865767126 span.yiv1865767126EmailStyle18
{font-family:"Calibri", sans-serif;color:windowtext;}
#yiv1865767126 span.yiv1865767126EmailStyle19
{font-family:"Calibri", sans-serif;color:windowtext;}
#yiv1865767126 span.yiv1865767126EmailStyle20
{font-family:"Calibri", sans-serif;color:windowtext;}
#yiv1865767126 .yiv1865767126MsoChpDefault
{font-size:10.0pt;}
_filtered {}
#yiv1865767126 div.yiv1865767126WordSection1
{}
--></style><div><div class="yiv1865767126WordSection1"><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Please find below and attached a press release about the accessible mail-in ballots case in Pennsylvania:</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Victory for Blind Voters in Pennsylvania as State Will Implement Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail System for the November 3 General Election </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">For Immediate Release </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">August 20, 2020 </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Press contact: </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Kelly Darr, Legal Director Disability Rights Pennsylvania </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">kdarr@disabilityrightspa.org </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">(215) 238-8070 ext. 221 </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Harrisburg, PA </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Following a lawsuit filed by blind voters, the Pennsylvania Department of State will provide a remote accessible vote-by-mail system for</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">voters with disabilities to receive and mark their ballots electronically for the upcoming general election and future elections. The lawsuit filed in</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">May, Joseph Drenth and the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania v. Secretary Kathryn Boockvar and the Department of State of Pennsylvania,</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">20-cv-00829 (M.D. Pa.), alleged that Pennsylvania violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act by denying blind voters equal access</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">to the absentee and mail-in ballot process. The paper ballots used by Pennsylvania for this process did not allow blind voters to vote privately and independently</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">in the same way other Pennsylvania voters could, because blind voters must rely on sighted third parties to assist with completing and returning a paper</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">ballot. </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">The Court granted the plaintiffs’ request in May for a preliminary injunction, and the defendants were required to provide voters with disabilities an</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">interim electronic option for mail-in voting in the June 2020 primary. The </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Protecting and advancing the rights of people with disabilities </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">plaintiffs continued with the lawsuit after that to secure a permanent solution in time for the general elections in November. </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">On August 14, the defendants told the Court that Pennsylvania had finalized a contract for and intended to implement the Democracy Live OmniBallot tool,</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">which the defendants promise will provide an accessible electronic option for delivery and marking of ballots for voters with disabilities for the November</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">2020 election and subsequent elections. The defendants also stated in litigation that they intend to ask county boards of election (CBEs) to </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">• send appropriate instructions to approved OmniBallot voters for marking and return of ballots </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">• provide differently sized envelopes for those voters to enclose and return marked ballots </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">• and accept returned ballots as long as a signature appears anywhere on the envelope </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Based on these representations, on August 18, 2020, the Court granted the defendants’ request for judgment on grounds that the plaintiffs would receive</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">the relief requested in the lawsuit. </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Kelly Darr, Legal Director for Disability Rights Pennsylvania and co-counsel with Brown Goldstein & Levy, LLP for Plaintiffs, said, “This is an important</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">victory and a major step toward providing equal access to the polls and fully accessible elections for all voters with disabilities. The National Federation</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">of the Blind and Disability Rights Pennsylvania will be monitoring the implementation of this new tool closely to ensure that disabled voters have the</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">access and information necessary to use this tool in time for the general election.” </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Lynn Heitz, President of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania expressed a similar sentiment. “The National Federation of the Blind is fighting</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">for the right of blind people everywhere to vote safely, privately, and independently in the November election,” said Heitz, “We are glad that Pennsylvania</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">plans to ensure this right for its blind voters.” </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">The Pennsylvania Department of State had not posted specific information about OmniBallot to its voter websites as of the time of this release. According</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">to court filings, OmniBallot is a cloud-based platform that will allow county election officials to upload ballot information to create an </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">accessible ballot, which can be electronically delivered and marked through </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">OmniBallot by a link sent to eligible voters. More information about </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">OmniBallot is available at </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">https://democracylive.com/omniballot-online/</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">. </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">For more information on this option for voters with disabilities as it </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">develops, visit the Department of State’s website, </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">www.votespa.com,</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">or </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">contact Disability Rights Pennsylvania by calling 800-692-7443 or email at </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style=""><a rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:vote@disabilityrightspa.org" target="_blank" href="mailto:vote@disabilityrightspa.org">vote@disabilityrightspa.org</a>.</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Disability Rights Pennsylvania letterhead:</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Disability Rights Pennsylvania </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">1800 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Suite 900 </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Philadelphia, PA 19103 </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">(215) 238-8070 (Voice) </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">(877) 375-7139 (TDD) </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">www.disabilityrightspa.org </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p><div><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Joseph Drenth </span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">First Vice-President, National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Pennsylvania State Board of Vocational Rehabilitation</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Senior R&D Software Engineer, JBT Corporation, Automated Systems Division</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Cell: 215-827-7787</span></p><p class="yiv1865767126MsoNormal"><span style="">Email: joe.drenth@gmail.com</span></p></div></div></div></div>_______________________________________________<br>NFBP-Talk mailing list<br><a ymailto="mailto:NFBP-Talk@nfbnet.org" href="mailto:NFBP-Talk@nfbnet.org">NFBP-Talk@nfbnet.org</a><br><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbp-talk_nfbnet.org" target="_blank">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbp-talk_nfbnet.org</a><br>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NFBP-Talk:<br><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbp-talk_nfbnet.org/skewbdobdo%40verizon.net" target="_blank">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbp-talk_nfbnet.org/skewbdobdo%40verizon.net</a><br></blockquote>