[nabs-l] NABS Membership Call Survey

Tue Aug 28 04:09:19 UTC 2012

Stephanie:

This is great informaition. Thanks for going so much in depth.

The ID issue is the easiest. I don't know of a state that doesn't
offer a nondriving photo ID. This can be obtained wherever you would
go to get your driver's license. It looks just like and contains all
of the information that a driver's license contains. It is a
legitimate form of ID. I had no problems at the precincts in NC when I
showed my photo ID.

Where ID's relate to my concern is that when you get your ID, you have
to sign the bottom. The DMV that I went to had an electronic pad that
you sign with a stylus. I typically like to place a finger down on a
paper to orient myself before I write my signature. But touching the
electronic pad made a finger print. After a few unsuccessful tries,
the agent gave me an index card, and they elected to process my
signature the old way. This was helpful, but even though I have been
signing my name since I was 7, I really don't have any way of knowing
if I have signed my name exactly the way it looks on my state ID; this
signature is kept on file with the state so they don't actually have
to look at your ID to see it. I know that the intentions of this are
good and in place to prevent voter fraud, but as a blind person, I
feel like it pretty much gives me no choice but to find 2 witnesses to
sign my ballot and varify my signature, and I think that is unfair
since a sighted person can fill out their ballot independently and
forego the long precinct lines since they are located far and few
between due to the mailed-out ballots being the primary method used
for voting.

I'm sure the membership committee will look at all of this information
and decide if this call is a good idea, which I think we will, and we
will work to find appropriate people to conduct the call. Thanks so
much for the information. It was really great to read.

And, I go by Cindy so that's fine.

Cindy

On 8/27/12, Stephanie H. DeLuca <sjhhirst at gmail.com> wrote:
> This website is very informative.  The following link takes you to a page
> where they have links to several laws relevant to people with disabilities.
>
> http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=Laws
>
> In the field of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind.
>     ~Louis Pasteur, lecture 1854
>
>
> On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 10:48 PM, Stephanie H. DeLuca
> <sjhhirst at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Heh, I mean Cynthia, sorry!
>>
>> In the field of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind.
>>     ~Louis Pasteur, lecture 1854
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 10:46 PM, Stephanie H. DeLuca
>> <sjhhirst at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> I'm excited to see that other people support the idea of getting
>>> involved
>>> but sad to admit that it's a problem.
>>>
>>> My story is this:  In 2008, I went for early voting at one of the
>>> designated places in Nashville.  When it was my turn, they designated a
>>> polling machine to me.  Before I began the process, I asked about
>>> assisted
>>> voting.  Maybe I should have asked about accessible polling machines?
>>>  Anyway, he just said he'd have to help me and that was the only option
>>> I
>>> had.  I turned him down and went through the process myself (I do have
>>> some
>>> vision).
>>>
>>> It seems that the voting issues fall into a few categories:
>>> 1) lack of knowledge of rights/responsibilities on behalf of the voter
>>> 2) lack of training and knowledge of polling staff
>>> 3) lack of a functioning accessible voting machine on site
>>> 4) difficult-to-follow tutorials/instructions for the accessible machine
>>>
>>> For me, numbers 1 and 2 seem to be the biggest problems.  How do we get
>>> the word out and how do we insure that the people at the polling places
>>> are
>>> trained and that there is a funcitoning machine available?
>>>
>>> I like the idea about having demos.  Barring that, would it be possible
>>> to record a tutorial and post it online?  Maybe by someone who has used
>>> it
>>> recently?  I've heard that the tutorial provided at the polling place is
>>> often not straightforward or easy to follow and that a blind user could
>>> do
>>> a better job haha
>>>
>>> I think we should at the very least inform people of their rights.  I
>>> think finding the federal law wouldn't be too hard, but some rules vary
>>> state by state.  I'm having trouble tracking down the information for
>>> TN,
>>> for example.  Anyway, here is the federal law (I think).
>>>
>>> *Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act*
>>>
>>> The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984
>>> generally requires polling places across the United States to be
>>> physically
>>> accessible to people with disabilities for federal elections. Where no
>>> accessible location is available to serve as a polling place, a
>>> political
>>> subdivision must provide an alternate means of casting a ballot on the
>>> day
>>> of the election. This law also requires states to make available
>>> registration and voting aids for disabled and elderly voters, including
>>> information by TTYs (also known as TDDs) or similar devices. For more
>>> information, contact:
>>>
>>> U.S. Department of Justice
>>> Civil Rights Division
>>> 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
>>> Voting Section - 1800 G
>>> Washington, D.C. 20530
>>>
>>> (800) 253-3931 (voice/TTY)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *National Voter Registration Act*
>>>
>>> The National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also known as the "Motor
>>> Voter Act," makes it easier for all Americans to exercise their
>>> fundamental
>>> right to vote. One of the basic purposes of the Act is to increase the
>>> historically low registration rates of minorities and persons with
>>> disabilities that have resulted from discrimination. The Motor Voter Act
>>> requires all offices of State-funded programs that are primarily engaged
>>> in
>>> providing services to persons with disabilities to provide all program
>>> applicants with voter registration forms, to assist them in completing
>>> the
>>> forms, and to transmit completed forms to the appropriate State
>>> official.
>>> For more information, contact:
>>>
>>> U.S. Department of Justice
>>> Civil Rights Division
>>> 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
>>> Voting Section - 1800 G
>>> Washington, D.C. 20530
>>>
>>> www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting
>>>
>>> (800) 253-3931 (voice/TTY)
>>>
>>> It seems that the NFB has a lot of lawyers.  Is it possible for us to
>>> get
>>> someone trained in law to help us with this one?
>>>
>>> Here is another good resource, the Department of Justice:
>>> http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/drs/
>>>
>>> One question I have is, why aren't ALL voting machines accessible?  It
>>> seems like this is more of a software issue.  Would it not be possible
>>> to
>>> write accessible software to be used on all machines?
>>>
>>> One other thing is that we should encourage people to file a complaint
>>> if
>>> they have these aforementioned problems this year and in the future.  We
>>> (the NFB) should provide information on that, as well.
>>>
>>> While I think this is a concern for the whole NFB on a national level, I
>>> think as students, we are in a good spot to target new voters and
>>> college
>>> students who have not voted before.  Maybe we could draft a brochure
>>> about
>>> rights and responsibilities and general information (maybe even for
>>> people
>>> who aren't blind but are disabled?) and make sure it gets distributed at
>>> voter registration drives going on campus.
>>>
>>> Cindy also makes a good point about getting to the voting place.  Also,
>>> this will become even more difficult in many states that require valid
>>> state IDs (like TN, AL, AR, etc.).  How should we deal with this?
>>>
>>> In the field of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind.
>>>     ~Louis Pasteur, lecture 1854
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 5:58 PM, Cynthia Bennett
>>> <clb5590 at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>> Stephanie:
>>>>
>>>> That is a great idea. I had a similar experience as Josh as I voted in
>>>> my first election. They were the 2008 primaries, and I was very
>>>> excited. When the machine did not work, I asked a poll worker to
>>>> assist me. They filled in the ballot as I wished, but the worker did
>>>> make some comments about their preference on a politician. This
>>>> occured when I said that I did not want to vote for a particular
>>>> office, because I was unfamiliar with any of the candidates. I said
>>>> something like, "I don't want to fill in anything for this," and the
>>>> worker responded with "Oh, I heard that ___ is pretty good. Do you
>>>> want me to fill in his/her name?" I chose to still not vote for that
>>>> particular office. This practice is illegal, and I chose not to say
>>>> anything about it. But I do think that an informational call about
>>>> rights and accessible voting machines would be awesome. Unfortunately,
>>>> each state is a little different, but information about federal
>>>> mandates on the presence of accessible voting machines/rights and some
>>>> typical patterns in accessible voting in states would be great. For
>>>> example, Washington conducts mail ballots. There are a few precincts
>>>> around town, but if you work in a neighborhood in which it takes a
>>>> while to get to a precinct, you are at a disadvantage as a blind
>>>> person. So, you can either take off work and use public transportation
>>>> to navigate to one of the few and very busy precincts and wait in a
>>>> 3-hour line, or you can find a reader and disclose your voting
>>>> preferences. The other animal in this issue is that if you choose to
>>>> get a reader to fill out your signature does not match the signature
>>>> on your state ID which is kept on file, then your ballot can be deemed
>>>> as false and not counted. As a blind person, I do the best I can with
>>>> my signature, but I do think that even the most ambitious blind people
>>>> are at a disadvantage when having to match a signature, and our
>>>> ballots could not be counted, and we may not hear about it, or we
>>>> would learn of it after elections are closed. If we are afraid that
>>>> our signature may not match that of our state ID, then we can have 2
>>>> witnesses sign. But that is 2 more people that have to see my ballot.
>>>> I do not think that this practice is common within the states, and I
>>>> would definitely not like my experience to dominate the nature of the
>>>> call, but I wanted to relay it to show that I think this is a very
>>>> good idea. I would personally like some professional/legal
>>>> advice/legal suggestions on how this can be changed.
>>>>
>>>> So, if you have any suggestions on people to conduct this call, or
>>>> resources for where this information can be found, please share it. If
>>>> not, the membership committee will certainly take the initiative to
>>>> conduct an informative call if we do in fact decide to pursue this
>>>> topic. But I wanted to make sure that since you made the suggestion,
>>>> you are welcome to provide suggestions on people to conduct the call.
>>>>
>>>> I know that someone comes to each NC state convention with an
>>>> accessible voting machine to show in the exhibit hall. During this
>>>> time, people can vote in a fake election and orient themselves to the
>>>> machine. I am not sure if NC is still doing this since it has been a
>>>> few years since the accessible machines were introduced, but I think
>>>> there is still a need for outreach about accessible voting.
>>>>
>>>> Keep the good membership call suggestions coming!
>>>> Cindy
>>>>
>>>> On 8/27/12, Joshua Lester <JLester8462 at pccuaedu.onmicrosoft.com> wrote:
>>>> > Hi, Stephanie!
>>>> > That's a great idea!
>>>> > I went to my voting site, earlier this year, and the machine didn't
>>>> work.
>>>> > My Disability Rights person that works for the governor, here said
>>>> he'd come
>>>> > down, to show them how to work it, but he never showed up!
>>>> > Thanks, Joshua
>>>> > ________________________________________
>>>> > From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] on behalf
>>>> of
>>>> > Stephanie DeLuca [sjhhirst at gmail.com]
>>>> > Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 2:53 PM
>>>> > To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>>> > Subject: Re: [nabs-l] NABS Membership Call Survey
>>>> >
>>>> > I think a discussion on voting as people with disabilities would be
>>>> good.
>>>> > Since a lot of people are on college campuses, it'd be a good
>>>> opportunity to
>>>> > get involved with informing people with disabilities (mainly VI)
>>>> > about
>>>> > rights and responsibilities for voting.  I've been to/worked at
>>>> > several
>>>> > voter registration drives, and I have NEVER seen information on
>>>> > voting
>>>> if
>>>> > you have a disability.
>>>> >
>>>> > On Aug 27, 2012, at 2:32 PM, Cody Bair <codyjbair at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>> >
>>>> >> Hi All,
>>>> >> As you are probably already aware, NABS conducts monthly membership
>>>> calls.
>>>> >> In order to get this school year started we are currently seeking
>>>> >> your
>>>> >> input on what topics you would like to see us cover this year.
>>>> >> Please
>>>> >> either reply directly to this thread with your suggestions or mail
>>>> them
>>>> >> directly to
>>>> >> Nabs.membership at gmail.com
>>>> >> Sincerely,
>>>> >> The NABS membership Committee
>>>> >>
>>>> >>
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Cynthia Bennett
>>>> B.A. Psychology, UNC Wilmington
>>>>
>>>> clb5590 at gmail.com
>>>> 828.989.5383
>>>>
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>>
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-- 
Cynthia Bennett
B.A. Psychology, UNC Wilmington

clb5590 at gmail.com
828.989.5383