[NFBWV-Talk] Fwd: WV Earns National Award for Limited E-Voting Initiative

Sat Mar 13 18:41:37 UTC 2021

Charlene, Ed said he had intended to write the same sentiment, but since you did, he said he thought that was adequate.   Sheri was a very integral part of that process.

Peace
Karen

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBWV-Talk <nfbwv-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of cs.nfbwv via NFBWV-Talk
Sent: Friday, March 12, 2021 5:26 PM
To: NFB of West Virginia Discussion List <nfbwv-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: cs.nfbwv <cs.nfbwv at frontier.com>
Subject: Re: [NFBWV-Talk] Fwd: WV Earns National Award for Limited E-Voting Initiative

Actually Marcus, we have our then President, Sheri, to thank for making this happen. She was the one who initially picked up the phone and called the secretary of states office to let them know that the forms were in accessible. She then gave them the name of adding Karen to help with this process and say our Jaws users. Thanks for the good teamwork everyone. Charlene

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From: NFBWV-Talk <nfbwv-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> on behalf of Marcus Soulsby (NFBWV) via NFBWV-Talk <nfbwv-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, March 12, 2021 5:09:54 PM
To: nfbwv-talk at nfbnet.org <nfbwv-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Marcus Soulsby (NFBWV) <msoulsby at nfbwv.org>
Subject: [NFBWV-Talk] Fwd: WV Earns National Award for Limited E-Voting Initiative

Everyone,

Please read this exciting news below on the accolades that West Virginia has won and the notice we have received concerning our efforts to make elections more accessible.

We have won recognition on a national scale in large part due to efforts by our organization, especially folks like Ed and Karen McDonald who worked very closely with the Secretary of State’s office to see this  come to fruition .

We are making a difference.

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Sheri Koch <slk8332015 at gmail.com>
> Date: March 4, 2021 at 2:42:34 PM EST
> To: Marcus Soulsby <msoulsby at nfbwv.org>
> Subject: Fwd: FW: WV Earns National Award for Limited E-Voting 
> Initiative
>
> 
> see below
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
> From: Brittany Westfall <Bwestfall at wvsos.com>
> Date: Thu, Mar 4, 2021 at 2:25 PM
> Subject: FW: WV Earns National Award for Limited E-Voting Initiative
> To: slk8332015 at gmail.com <slk8332015 at gmail.com>
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> From: West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner <wvsosmw at wvsos.com>
> Sent: Thursday, March 4, 2021 1:33 PM
> To: Mike Queen <MQueen at wvsos.com>
> Subject: WV Earns National Award for Limited E-Voting Initiative
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> From The Office of
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> West Virginia Secretary of State
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> Mac Warner
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> For Immediate Release:
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> March 4, 2021
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> West Virginia Earns National Award!
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> U.S. Election Assistance Commission recognizes West Virginia for 
> electronic access to ballot box for voters with certain physical 
> disabilities
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> Charleston, W. Va. –  The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) announced today that the WV Secretary of State's Office won the national 2020 Clearinghouse Awards, also known as the “Clearie” Awards, for best practices in election administration.
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> The EAC gave the award to West Virginia for its critical role in the implementation of Senate Bill 94, which offers a safe, accessible and secure voting alternative to in-person voting for voters with qualifying physical disabilities. With the support of disability rights organizations at every level, Secretary of State Mac Warner coordinated with legislators to facilitate the bill’s unanimous passage in January of 2020.
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> Secretary Warner's office worked closely with Disability Rights of West Virginia and the National Federation of the Blind of WV to ensure the system was accessible and to help educate the public on the new option. As a result of the awareness campaign, 271 qualified voters living with a physical disability were able to vote independently, securely, and privately in the 2020 General Election using a secure electronic absentee ballot process.
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> "West Virginia is proud to continue our bipartisan effort to eliminate barriers to the ballot box. The success of our electronic voting initiative for voters with disabilities is a result of working closely with our legislature, the governor and our county clerks," said Secretary of State Mac Warner. "We appreciate the EAC recognizing West Virginia's leadership in this arena."
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> CLICK HERE to read more about West Virginia's limited e-voting initiative.
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> CLICK HERE to see a video of how West Virginia's limited e-voting initiative works.
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> Established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), the EAC is charged with serving as a clearinghouse for election administration information. To further this mission, the EAC launched the Clearies in 2016 to promote best practices in elections and celebrate the accomplishments of election officials.
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> The Award categories included innovation in election administration; improving accessibility for voters with disabilities; best practices in recruiting, training, and retaining poll workers; and creative and original “I Voted” sticker design. The EAC also announced a new category this year for innovation in election cybersecurity and technology.
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> Winners of the Award were selected by two independent panels of election officials from the EAC’s advisory boards.
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> “This year we are pleased to receive a record-breaking number of Clearie Award submissions, more than tripling the 2019 submissions,” said EAC Chairman Donald Palmer. “The number of Clearie submissions highlights that even though this was a challenging election year, officials continue to modernize and develop programming that will serve as helpful best practices for the coming years. The job of an election official is never done, and we hope to see even more submissions and exceptional examples in 2021."
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> Palmer continued, "These best practices are valuable resources as officials continue to administer elections during the pandemic and for years to come.”
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> Now in its fifth year, the Clearie awards recognize the innovative efforts of election officials across America. Entries were judged based on each initiative’s depiction of positive results, innovation, sustainability, outreach efforts, cost-effectiveness, and replicability. More information about each awardee is available on the EAC’s website.
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> -30-
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> Media Contact:
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> Landon Palmer
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> Assistant Communications Director
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> (304) 356-2616
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> lpalmer at wvsos.gov
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> Visit our office online at wvsos.gov
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>
>
> Register to vote at GoVoteWV.com
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>
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> ‌ ‌ ‌
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>
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> View this email in your web browser
>
>
>
> West Virginia Secretary of State's Office | State Capitol Building, 
> Charleston, WV 25305
>
> Unsubscribe mqueen at wvsos.gov
>
> Update Profile | Customer Contact Data Notice
>
> Sent by wvsosmw at wvsos.com
>
>
>
> --
> Namaste
> Sheri
> 304-993-5103
>
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