[Tall-Corn] FW: [Nfbnet-members-list] 2020 Blind and Low-Vision Voter Survey Now Open

[rjray at q.com]

Greetings,

 

At the bottom of this I am including a message about the voters survey. This is a rather important item for all of us to consider.

 

Here are a few of voting experiences that I have heard about here in Iowa this year. We are working toward accessible voting for absentee voting but it isn’t here yet. 

 

Here on this list during October Wade talked about his experience in voting in Cedar Rapids and needing to jump through a number of whoops instead of just being able to vote with an accessible ballot or an accessible machine.

 

At State Convention Richard Webb talked to several people about the hoops he had to jump through to vote in Burlington.

Several people have commented about going to a polling place and the accessible voting machine not being set up or a number of other issues. The largest of these is that there was no one at the polling place that knew how to work with the machine or that it does have a button on it for putting a screen curtain down so that people around you cannot see your selections. 

 

Cindy and I ended up doing an absentee ballot. We did have someone to mark it for us but still one more issue.

 

Problems with having a secret ballot are not new. In 1966, or maybe it was 1969, the Iowa Legislature passed a bill allowing blind persons to take a person of their choice into the voting booth with them. Still some polling places insist that you need to take someone from each party in with you.

 

The time has come and we must for once and for all need to put it to rest that blind persons have the right to voting and doing it privately. Please, fill out the survey from the National Office. If you had specific problems let the National office know about them. In addition, the Director of the Disability Rights Iowa asked us at Convention to send her stories of problems we have encountered in voting. Disability Rights Iowa, Iowa Council Of the United Blind and the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa are working together to get additional legislation passed this year so more of these problems may be solved. You will receive contact information for this effort shortly. Please, pass your stories along, contact your legislators and let’s put this one behind us.

 

Bob Ray

 

 

From: NFBNet-Members-List <nfbnet-members-list-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Blake, Lou Ann via NFBNet-Members-List
Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2020 10:09 AM
To: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] 2020 Blind and Low-Vision Voter Survey Now Open

 


Online Survey of Blind and Low-Vision Voters Now Available!


 

Calling all blind and low-vision voters who participated in the 2020 United States presidential election—the National Federation of the Blind needs your feedback! Whether you voted during early voting, at your local polling place on Election Day, or by mail, we want to hear about your experience. 

 

The 2020 blind and low-vision voter experience survey consists of two separate surveys. If you voted absentee or by mail using an accessible electronic ballot delivery system or a traditional paper ballot, please complete the survey for blind and low-vision voters who voted absentee or by mail at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YJJL7GN.

 

If you are a blind or low-vision voter who voted at an early voting center or at a polling place on Election Day, please complete the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NGFMPF2.

 

The results of this survey will be provided to state election officials, state protection and advocacy agencies, and voting rights advocates to help improve the accessibility of future elections. Funding for the survey was provided through a Help America Vote Act (HAVA) grant from the Administration for Community Living, United States Department of Health and Human Services. Questions about the survey or accessible voting should be directed to Lou Ann Blake at lblake at nfb.org <mailto:lblake at nfb.org>  or 410-659-9314, extension 2221 or to Jeff Kaloc at jkaloc at nfb.org <mailto:gcazares at nfb.org>  or 410-659-9314, extension 2206. Thank you for your participation!

 

Lou Ann Blake, J.D.

Director of Research Programs, Blindness Initiatives

200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

(410) 659-9314, extension 2221 |  <mailto:lblake at nfb.org> lblake at nfb.org

 

 

 <https://nfb.org/> 

 

                          <http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind>      <https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice>      <https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind> 

 

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.

 

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