[NFBV-Announce] Hurry! Time is running out!!

Mon May 24 03:45:34 UTC 2021

Deadline  May 28th! 

>From John Halverson.

Hi Friends and Colleagues,

If you are planning to vote in the June 8 Primary election, we encourage you
to try to use the accessible remote ballot marking tool provided by the
Virginia Board of Elections and your local registrar. Some may choose to
vote in person but the remote ballot marking tool is a good option as long
as you have a computer with a printer. Please note, the deadlines for
requesting the absentee ballot are coming up on May 28 and it really takes
some direct outreach by you to contact your registrar and request access to
the remote ballot marking tool.

Essentially, there are 4 steps:

A.	Request an Absentee Ballot online and mark the checkbox that you
require voter assistance. In the November 2020 election, this checkbox
stated you are blind, disabled, or unable to read/write.
B.	Reach out to your registrar to request access to the remote ballot
marking tool from My Ballot
C.	Mark your ballot on the My Ballot Solution and print it out
D.	Follow the instructions to put your printed ballot in the envelopes
mailed to you by your registrar , sign and put your name and address on the
inner envelope and put that envelope in the "outer" envelope which you will
place in the mail.

A note before I begin.  The information I provide is accurate to the best of
my ability.  I am not an official election information source so I cannot
guarantee perfect information.  However I have used or tested the links
below and they appear to be accurate.

Step A: Request an Absentee Ballot

I find several ways to reach the form for requesting an accessible absentee
ballot.  You can start at the website for your local registrar or go through
the citizens election portal.  Note that reaching the form through the
elections portal requires clicking on about five links.  It is not clear
which bring you to the form without trial and error.  Note that the portal
will give you a lot of additional election information.

Here is a link that brings you directly to the absentee ballot request form.
I strongly suggest you use this link.  I used it and it works.

All of the  several means  of reaching the form end up at the same place so
why not go there directly.  

https://vote.elections.virginia.gov/voterinformation/lookup/absentee
<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvote.elect
ions.virginia.gov%2Fvoterinformation%2Flookup%2Fabsentee&data=04%7C01%7C%7C7
6b872d098924de3143508d91e245f6c%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7
C637573963824183520%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2lu
MzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=GtBEsyJmlmQyljYXO8iYCo%2FPly
4gMqOTYjNWwzKzVgs%3D&reserved=0> 

There is a simple registration form on that page.

You need to fill-out: first name, last name, date of birth using the format
mmddyyyy, last four digits of your social security number, locality and a
certification that the information is correct and there is no fraud. Then
you click on submit.

The next page gives you information regarding your voter status and a link
to obtain a mail absentee ballot.

Click or enter on that link and more questions appear. The first question
asks for your Virginia driver's license or identification number.  You must
have one of these numbers to request an absentee mail ballot.  Again you are
asked for your date of birth and your Social Security number.  You must
agree that your driver's license or identification signature should be used
for your mail ballot request.  You need to verify that you are a United
States citizen, a resident of Virginia and your active duty status if your
overseas.  In order to receive your accessible ballot indicate you need
voter assistance.  The final questions involve where your ballot should be
sent.  Note that I may have left out some questions, but they are
straightforward and accessible.

If you do not have a state ID contact your local registrar.

Many of us receive an odd notice on our state identification cards that we
are unable to sign our names.  However, I believe that our Id card
signatures still work for requesting an absentee  ballot.  Mine worked.  

The final day to request an accessible mail absentee ballot is 5:00 PM May
28.  However, I suggest requesting your ballot immediately!

Step B: Reach Out to Your Registrar

The default action for most voters is the state board of elections sends the
local registrar the request and the local registrar quickly sends you a
print ballot. However, the print ballot and it's associated simple envelopes
aren't the actual materials you need for the remote ballot marking process.
If you act quickly to contact your registrar, you can request access to the
remote ballot marking tool and the special envelopes  with tactile markings
used with the remote ballot marking tool. In the ideal scenario, the state
elections agency should quickly notify your local registrar and they will
contact you.  I sent my request on a Friday and received an email
verification the next Monday.

Note you can cast a secret primary ballot, but you need a computer printer
and someone may have to assist  you by completing the information on the
ballot envelope.  We will eventually pursue electronic ballot return in the
General Assembly but until then, you must print your ballot, follow the
procedures to sign and write your name and address on the envelope, and mail
it back to your registrar.

Here is what the state elections board says about accessible ballots.

Accessible Absentee Voting

If you are blind or have low vision or have impaired manual dexterity, you
have the option of voting an absentee ballot using an 

electronic ballot marking

tool. If you choose this option for voting absentee, your ballot will be
delivered electronically and will include screen reader technology. If you
are

interested in using this service to vote absentee, mark the section on your
absentee ballot application indicating you need assistance voting your
ballot.

Your General Registrar's office will contact you with information on how to
take advantage of this option. For more information, please contact your
General

Registrar's office. You can find contact information at our 

online lookup tool. 

The link for contacting your local registrar of voters is 

www.elections.virginia.gov/localgr
<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.electio
ns.virginia.gov%2Flocalgr&data=04%7C01%7C%7C76b872d098924de3143508d91e245f6c
%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637573963824313449%7CUnknown%7
CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0
%3D%7C1000&sdata=W5G55CNS0z6NBOorzFnlhkz%2BT%2B9tk7AJUOgJ1oDducs%3D&reserved
=0> 

Please note: Do not wait for the  registrar to contact you. While the Board
of Election states that the registrar will do the outreach to you, no one
who used this tool in the November 2020 election ever received a call from
their registrar without calling the registrar first.  Unless the process
improved dramatically, you will need to either email or call your registrar.

Step C: Mark your Ballot and Print It Out

Your registrar will provide you with the link and the user ID information to
access the My Ballot remote ballot marking tool. The tool is quite
accessible and easy to use. If you are able to fill out a web form, you will
be able to complete the ballot . At the end, you will obtain a PDF of your
ballot that you must print out.

Step D: Obtain the envelops from your registrar, put the printed ballot in
the inner envelop, put your name, address and sign the inner tactilely
marked envelope, and put that in the outer envelop. This envelop should be
mailed to your registrar. We believe the local registrar will have already
put the address on the outer envelope and it will already have postage.

If I may be of assistance, do not hesitate to call on 703-867-6400 or send
me an email on jwh100 at outlook.com <mailto:jwh100 at outlook.com> .

John Halverson, Ph.D

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