May 5th Absentee Voting ProvisionsSounds good, as long as you can get the word
out to all blind citizens of Michigan, in enough time. I hope though, that
future elections can be similarly completed by blind folks.
Vickie Rolison
From: Lucy Edmonds
Sent: Monday, May 04, 2020 6:39 AM
To: mailto:msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ;
Subject: [msb-alumni] Fwd: May 5th Absentee Voting Provisions
Way to go Fred and Michael Powell! I apologize if I’m not allowed to forward
this message, but here it is anyway.
Lucy edmonds
Begin forwarded message:
From: Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
<LARA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: May 4, 2020 at 9:01:53 AM EDT
To: lucyjean11@xxxxxxxxx
Subject: May 5th Absentee Voting Provisions
Reply-To: LARA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Note: Date and action required – Also, elections are not occurring in
all voting districts. This only applies to elections occurring locally May 5th
Friday, May 1, 2020
SOS Reaches Settlement On Absentee Provisions For Blind Voters
The Department of State Friday reached a settlement agreement with two
blind Michiganders looking to change how absentee ballots can be cast for
people with visual disabilities in light of safety and privacy concerns during
the ongoing new coronavirus pandemic.
Signed by U.S. District Court Judge Gershwin Drain, the agreement
allows for voters with visual disabilities to cast ballots absentee through use
of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, so long as the
voter can provide a declaration that they are blind or otherwise severely
disabled "and that such a disability would prevent them from being able to
independently complete a paper absentee ballot, without traveling to a location
accepting in-person registration and voting on May 5, 2020."
These stipulations only apply to the May 5 election and does not
resolve the overall motion as it relates to elections in August and November,
as well as all future elections.
"I am proud we collaboratively identified a temporary solution to
expand voting access for blind citizens in Michigan," Secretary of State
Jocelyn Benson said in a statement. "I am confident we will continue our work
to successfully identify and implement a long-term solution as well. Ensuring
all citizens have equal access to their right to vote is a priority for my
administration."
To be eligible, a person must complete an application and declaration
by 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, which will be available on the Bureau of Election's
website. Voters will need to provide a state driver's license or personal
identification card number, or the last four digits of their social security
number to apply. Applications can be submitted to their local clerk by mail or
e-mail.
Upon submitting a declaration requesting the relief, and being found
eligible for the program, the voter will then cast a standard UOCAVA ballot as
forwarded to them by the Bureau of Elections. This ballot will be made
compatible with standard screen reader technology, including Job Access with
Speech software, and made so that it can "be completed independently and
privately."
Previously the state claimed changes to the current absentee ballot
process in order to alleviate proposed burdens on voters who are blind would be
"essentially impossible … to adopt and implement" in time for various elections
across the state next week.
That was according to a filing Thursday, which came as a response to
the original suit filed last month, which claims that voting absentee amidst
the COVID-19 pandemic puts blind voters' safety and privacy at risk (See
Gongwer Michigan Report, April 27, 2020).
The initial suit alleged the state could offer additional services for
absentee voting for Michiganders with disabilities, such as through use of an
online ballot marking tool.
"Even if software is available in other states, there is no existing
framework for those technologies to interact with Michigan's election system.
It is simply not possible to implement such a system in a matter of days, as
the plaintiffs demand here," the Thursday filing says. "That is especially so
where this lawsuit was filed 10 days before the May 5 election date.
Plaintiffs' delay in bringing this action was unreasonable and has prejudiced
the ability of the state defendants both to respond fully to these claims and
to comply with the kind of injunction they propose."
The department contended that while it could be easy in other states
for implement such software, due to the way Michigan conducts its elections at
the local level, it would "require months of planning to implement
successfully" – as would be the case with any new procedure being implemented.
Issues pertaining to how secure this software would be were also raised.
"Election administration in Michigan is decentralized and relies on
local clerks for implementation," the filing says. "Even for matters less
substantive than the addition of an entirely new method of voting, the
Secretary of State and Bureau of Elections generally provide training to these
clerks months and weeks before elections – not in less than a week before an
election. … While the state defendants continue to support new accessibility
options for disabled voters, such fundamental changes to Michigan's election
system are not something that can rushed into existence over the course of a
weekend."
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