From: Brad Williams [mailto:bradw@xxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 9:10 AM
To: 'Sue Cohen'
Subject: URGENT HAVA ACTION ALERT We are under attack!
URGENT
HAVA ACTION ALERT
We are under attack!
Background
State and county election officials have worked an amendment through the NYS
Congressional delegation to the Holt bill HR 811 which contains language
that will suspend the disability provisions of HAVA in New York State until
2010!!! If this goes through, it will cease any progress on disability
voting access in New York for three years!
Speaker Pelosi is considering the amendment, but is looking for feedback
from the disability community (especially from New York). WE MUST RESPOND!
The NYSILC office made emergency phone calls at the end of the business day
yesterday. I wrote a letter, provided below, to oppose the amendment. Jim
Dickson of the AAPD attended the bill hearing last night and delivered the
letter for us to Speaker Pelosi and Steny Hoyer. The action helped to delay
a decision for another day or two. Thanks Jim!
We need to take action immediately!!!
Action
1) Call House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Office at (202) 225-0100. If her
Speaker line is too busy, her alternative DC Congress office number is (202)
225-4965.
* Tell them your name and where you are from (location).
* Deliver the following message:
o "Please tell Speaker Pelosi to NOT amend the Holt bill HR 811 with
language that would let New York State suspend the disability provisions of
the Federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) until 2010."
* If they let you speak longer, you can add:
o "New Yorkers with disabilities have been denied access to vote
privately and independently for over 200 years! Do not prolong this right
any further."
* Thank you.
2) Contact your local member of Congress.
* If you don't know who that person is, you can use the link provided
below to the CDR website:
http://capwiz.com/rochestercdr/state/main/?state=NY
Click on the link provided above. Enter your zip code into the box next to
the description that says, "Enter your ZIP code to find your
representatives," then click the "GO" button. Look under the heading, "U.S.
Representative" and click on the name and link provided to access the
information to your congress person.
* Tell them your name and where you are from (location).
* Deliver the following message:
o "Please tell my representative to tell Speaker Pelosi to NOT amend
the Holt bill HR 811 with language that would let New York State suspend the
disability provisions of the Federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) until
2010."
* If they let you speak longer, you can add:
o "New Yorkers with disabilities have been denied access to vote
privately and independently for over 200 years! Do not prolong this right
any further."
* If they want to discuss the issue further, or want to know what we
want, you can add:
o The State Board of Elections (SBOE) and county election commissioners
have had more than enough time to comply with HAVA, which should have been
addressed on Primary Day 2006.
o For the Federal election in 2008, New Yorkers with disabilities want
the state to step up their HAVA compliance and meet the standard of one
accessible voting machine per polling place. This would also mean that all
polling places would have to be accessible per ADA guidelines.
* Thank you.
3) If you find out any information during your conversations, email NYSILC
at bradw@xxxxxxxxxxx
Jim Dickson of AAPD will continue to provide us support in DC. I will send
out an email update if and when a result is achieved. RAMP UP THE CALLS!!!
Brad
-----------------------------------------------------------
111 Washington Avenue, Suite101
Albany,NY12210
(518) 427-1060 Voice&TTY
nysilc@xxxxxxxxxx
www.nysilc.org
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
235 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Speaker Pelosi:
Do NOT amend the Holt bill HR 811 with language that would let New York
State suspend the disability
provisions of the Federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) until 2010.
New Yorkers with disabilities have been denied access to vote privately and
independently for over 200 years! Do
not prolong this right any further. The State Board of Elections (SBOE) and
county election commissioners have
had more than enough time to comply with HAVA, which should have been
addressed on Primary Day 2006.
For the Federal election in 2008, New Yorkers with disabilities want the
state to step up their HAVA compliance and
meet the standard of one accessible voting machine per polling place. This
would also mean that all polling places
would have to be accessible per ADA guidelines. I ask you to support our
position, which is mandated by federal law.
In addition, you must understand that election officials do not speak for
us. At a recent meeting of county election
commissioners, they opposed the expansion of ballot marking devices to one
per polling place. In their objections,
some of the commissioners stated negative biases about people with
disabilities, perpetuated outdated voting
practices about our community (i.e., that we still want to vote by absentee
ballot), and tried to blame us as
scapegoats for the limited use of the Plan B sites in 2006. It should be
noted that the Plan B sites represented only
1% of the total sites in the state. The community was not well informed
about the sites and significant barriers made
it difficult for many New Yorkers with disabilities to access them on a
countywide basis.
If the county election commissioners want to focus in on numbers, they
should consider the national study conducted
by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). AAPD
identified that there are 3.3 million voting-aged
New Yorkers with disabilities. In the 2000 Presidential election, they
projected that 1.3 million of these individuals actually
voted. However, this means that almost 2 million voting-aged New Yorkers
with disabilities are currently disenfranchised
from the process. This is totally unacceptable and the reason why New York
State is being sued!
I look forward to your continued support on this important issue.
Respectfully,
Brad Williams
Brad Williams
Executive Director
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