[NFBAZ-EastValleyChapter] IMPORTANT AZ NFB Call To Action For Vote By Mail Resolution

Fri Sep 18 23:30:23 UTC 2020

Hello East Valley,

Please read the following information from the Phoenix chapter. The Phoenix chapter wrote a resolution along with members of the Federation to help expedite the process of voting by mail. 

Anyone can write a resolution and get it passed. It’s not easy to do but it’s only half the battle. Seeing the resolution through is a different story. Here is a great example of The work it takes.

Please read the following call to action. Make sure you are registered to vote. There are some very important phone numbers here if you have any questions. These are the people you need to contact. You will also find information for Brad Kuhn, Phoenix chapter president along with members of our state board who are here to help.

Please contact members of the Phoenix chapter if you have any questions. You may also contact me and I will do my best to get you the information that you need to help move this forward.

Wed., Sept. 16, 2020

Hello, Federation Family,

Now that our batteries are charged by attending the outstanding ,virtual NFB of AZ 2020 State Convention, it is time to get to work.

President Porterfield sounded a “Call to Action,” throughout the affiliate convention this past weekend, and we must answer the call.  Five resolutions were adopted by the Convention on, Saturday, September 12, 2020.  While they are all important policy statements that will direct the work of the NFB of AZ this year, the Vote-by-Mail Resolution is the focus of this message, being posted to the Phoenix Chapter listserv.  You will find the Vote-by-mail Resolution, at the end of this email.

The Vote-by-Mail Call to Action:

Anyone of voting age must register with their Arizona county Recorder’s Office, no later than, Wednesday, October 07, 2020, to be eligible to vote in the November 03, 2020,, General Election.

All NFB of AZ Federationists, our family, our friends, our colleagues, and our associates that are blind need to contact their Arizona county Recorder’s Office to request an accessible Absentee Ballot-preferably in writing via email.  If making this request by phone, ask that your request be confirmed by having a text sent to your phone, or in an email.  Documentation of your accessible Absentee Ballot request (and the result of your request) is vital.  If a text or email confirmation is not possible, please write down the name of the person that took your request, as well as their job title, direct phone number, and work email address.  Also, please note the date and time you made this request, as well as the response that was given to you, by the staff member of the Recorder’s Office.

Contact information for Maricopa County Recorder Office personnel can be found, below.  Also, Maricopa County Elections Board representative, Kevin Borsody’s phone number is provided, as well.

Thank you for answering President Porterfield’s Call to Action, by requesting an accessible Absentee Ballot with your Arizona county Recorder’s Office, as soon as possible.  If you need assistance, please contact:

Brad Kuhn, President/NFB of AZ Phoenix Chapter

(815) 501-1153

papa.ks.kafe at gmail.com

Jordan Moon, 1st Vice President/NFB of AZ Phoenix Chapter

(951) 316-5363

jdfmoon at gmail.com

Colin Wong, 2nd Vice President/NFB of AZ Phoenix Chapter

(480) 886-4445

Wong.colin9n5 at gmail.com

Best regards,

Vicki Hodges, Secretary/NFB of AZ Phoenix Chapter

602.403.9019

vjazz at cox.net

Maricopa County Recorder’s Office Contact Information

Maricopa County

http://www.maricopa.gov/ (link is external)

Voter Registration and Early Voting

Adrian Fontes, Maricopa County Recorder

111 South 3rd Avenue, #103

Phoenix, Arizona 85003

Phone - 602-506-1511

Fax - 602-506-5112

TDD - 602-506-2348

Email - voterinfo at risc.maricopa.gov (link sends e-mail)
Website http://recorder.maricopa.gov/ (link is external)

Election and Voting Location Information

Rey Valenzuela, Maricopa County Director of Election Services and Early Voting

510 S. Third Avenue

Phoenix, Arizona 85003

Phone - 602-506-1511

Fax - 602-506-5112

TDD - 602-506-2348

Email - voterinfo at risc.maricopa.gov (link sends e-mail)
Website http://recorder.maricopa.gov/elections/ (link is external)

Scott Jarett, Maricopa County Director of Election Day and Emergency Voting

510 S. Third Avenue

Phoenix, Arizona 85003

Phone - 602-506-1511

Fax - 602-506-5112

TDD - 602-506-2348

Email - voterinfo at risc.maricopa.gov (link sends e-mail)
Website http://recorder.maricopa.gov/elections/ (link is external)

Vote by Mail Request

Email a photo or scan of your completed requestor complete your request online.
Email: evreq at risc.maricopa.gov (link sends e-mail)
Website: request.maricopa.vote (link is external)

Maricopa County Elections Board

Kevin Borsody

Main:  (602) 506-1511

Direct:  (602) 506-1515

2020 NFB of AZ Vote-by-Mail Resolution

RE:  THAT VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOTS ARE MADE ACCESSIBLE, THROUGH AN ELECTRONIC BALLOT DELIVERY SYSTEM, TO BLIND, LOW-VISION, AND OTHER PRINT-DISABLED VOTERS IN ARIZONA, IN TIME FOR THE NOVEMBER 3, 2020, PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, AS WELL AS FOR FUTURE STATE AND LOCAL ELECTIONS.

    WHEREAS, the paper ballot that is mailed to all registered voters is not accessible to blind, low-vision, and other print-disabled voters; and

    WHEREAS, seventy to ninety percent of voters in any given state in this country are choosing to vote in the privacy and convenience of their own home, marking and mailing in their paper ballot, rather than voting at their official, designated polling location; and

    WHEREAS, due to social-distancing in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, this trend will, no doubt, increase exponentially, as the nation prepares for the 2020 Presidential Election; and

    WHEREAS, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires state and local jurisdictions, that are in the process of converting to all Vote-by-mail ballots, to provide an accessible way for blind, low-vision, and other print-disabled voters to mark their ballot privately and independently at home, work, or other convenient location, using their own access technology, while ensuring secure and anonymous ballot submission; and

    WHEREAS, Vote-by-mail legislation must require that an accessible electronic ballot delivery system comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA; and

    WHEREAS, Vote-by-mail legislation must also require that, accessible electronic ballot delivery systems meet the usability/accessibility guidelines developed by the National Federation of the Blind, and incorporated into the NIST/Center for Civic Design report “Principles and guidelines for remote ballot marking systems”; and

    WHEREAS, several states, such as Maryland, Colorado, and New Mexico, already provide accessible electronic ballot delivery systems using existing technology, there is no excuse for Arizona to deny this request; and

    WHEREAS, the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Arizona sent a demand letter to the Arizona Secretary of State, on August 25, 2020, demanding that all blind Arizonans  have the right to participate independently, securely, and anonymously in the upcoming General Election with an accessible, electronic mail-in ballot, but the state legislature has not, to date, approved this method:  Now, therefore,

    BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Arizona, assembled this twelfth day of September, 2020, that this organization will not rest until the Arizona Legislature passes legislation that makes Vote-by-mail ballots accessible through an electronic ballot delivery system, to blind, low-vision, and other print-disabled voters; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call on the Secretary of State and all Boards of Elections throughout Arizona, to ensure that the Vote-by-mail ballot is made electronically accessible to blind, low-vision, and other print-disabled voters in time for the Presidential Election, on November 3rd, 2020, as well as for future state and local elections; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization deploy any ethical and legal means necessary to ensure that this fundamental right of citizenship is guaranteed to all blind, low-vision, and other-print disabled Arizonans.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Megan Homrighausen

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