Under the agreement, the voter will have to request an electronic ballot via email or phone, with specific information provided to confirm the voter’s identity. They will have to submit a vote-by-mail application, which is available electronically and can be signed electronically. The voter will then be allowed to submit the ballot via mail or email, from an email address provided to a state voting official. The voter will have to sign an affidavit electronically verifying that they are an eligible voter, that they will not vote elsewhere, and that by casting a ballot electronically they are waiving their right to cast a secret ballot.
” Before the September 1 state primary, the Disability Law Center sued Galvin on behalf of the Bay State Council of the Blind, the Boston Center for Independent Living, and six individual plaintiffs, arguing that no information about this accommodation had been made public. By the time the sides reached an agreement, voters had only three days to request an electronic ballot.
On October 2, the groups filed a second lawsuit in US District Court arguing the Galvin still had not established a sufficient voting system for people who want to vote remotely due to COVID-19 but cannot use a print ballot. “Remote voting options that allow voters to complete their ballots from the safety of home, like absentee voting and vote by mail, generally involve completion of a paper ballot, which is simply inaccessible to voters with print disabilities,” they wrote in their complaint.”
The national, non-partison Disability and Election Virtual Summit hosted by AAPD (Annual Association of People with Disabilities) on June 22 and 23 is now available online. Don’t miss DLC Executive Director, Marlene Sallo talk about Massachusetts REV UP in Day 2 Part 3 around the 40 minute mark!
The big question in 2020 is how can everyone vote safely?
Update June 9, 2020:
Safe voting remains a question. Massachusetts legislators and Secretary of State Galvin are working hard implement Vote by Mail, extend early voting and add some weekend voting hours at the polling sites. On June 4, 2020, House Bill 4768 was passed and engrossed (To engross a bill is to pass it and send it to the other branch). This bill instructs the Secretary of State to mail all voters an application for a Vote By Mail ballot. It also extends early voting hours.
Rep. Kay Khan added an amendment to accommodate disabilities which was adopted on Friday, June 4: malegislature.gov/Bills/GetAmendmentContent/191/H4768/15/House/content This amendment allows a voter who needs an accommodation to vote by mail to request an accommodation. The amendment also requires the Secretary of State to grant accommodations that include, but are not limited to, a blank, electronic ballot that can be filled electronically and then printed. The concerns associated with the ballot are the need for the electronic system to be accessible and the need for accommodations for people that do not have access to a printer.
Here is the status as of May 19, 2020.
Massachusetts, like many other states, is scrambling to make
sure Vote by Mail will be available for the upcoming September and November
elections. On Thursday, May 14, the Massachusetts Joint Committee on
Election Laws held a virtual hearing to hear bills relative to election
administration in response to COVID-19. Some of the options provided by these
election bills are summarized below. Each option includes extended days
for early voting at location(s) in each city or town. The bills aim to
provide a safe voting environment for many voters, but not for all voters
with disabilities.
S2654 – Senator Rausch: This Act would establish vote by mail in 2020. A ballot package would be mailed out to every registered voter; an electronic web portal would allow voters unenrolled in a political party to request a primary election ballot; instructions would be provided in five languages; a person with a physical disability or a non-English speaker could ask for help in filling out the ballot; and, ballots would be certified and mailed in. H4699 – Representative Roy: This bill mirrors Senator Rausch’s bill on the House side.
S2653 – Senator Creem: This Act relates to voting by mail and early voting Election law. Any qualified voter who wants to vote early can file an application or send in a written request for an early voting ballot; ballots are mailed out by local election officials; and, an early voting ballot can be substituted for an absentee ballot.
While these bills were
specifically listed on the MA Joint Committee on Election Laws Hearing website,
Representative Roy has also filed H4721 which has been referred to the committee
on election laws by the House and Senate. This bill sets out to do the
following:
H4721 – Representative Roy: This Act relates to early voting and voting by mail in 2020. The Secretary of State would be required to mail out an application packet to every registered voter at the address listed in the registry no less than 40 days in advance of a schedule state primary OR state election; the packet would contain an application for an early vote by mail ballot; instructions would be provided in five languages; and, any qualified voter wanting to early vote by mail would be allowed to file with the voter’s local election official an application for an early voting ballot for the 2020 State Primary and / or General State Election. The Act requires the Secretary of State to implement a system for receiving requests for voting by mail, both electronically via web portal and in hard copy via postal mail. The Act also sets up early voting time frames and in-person voting hours that provides an opportunity to vote, in person, at least one evening each week and one Saturday during both the primary and state election. Finally, the Act states that no later than twenty-eight days before every primary, preliminary election or election, the city or town clerk shall send to each voter whose name appears on the permanently disabled voters’ list an application for an absent voting ballot, and the clerk would be able to complete the application as much as possible except for the voter’s signature.
Questions & concerns with these proposals and the
health/safety of voters are:
Should the state or towns mail out applications and ballots? The state has more resources to accomplish this task and would provide consistency across the state. However, most aspects of voting have always been at the local level.
How will towns handle this huge wave of envelopes? Will additional poll workers be hired to process mail in votes?
Who will pay for the additional costs of mailings and expense of additional town workers?
Can the post office handle the volume of mail-in ballots? The post office has been under attack and is a key component in all of these proposals.
How can the AutoMark machine be kept safe and sanitized on an ongoing basis if in person voting is allowed?
Being that in person voting will also be allowed, how will the polling sites be staffed? How will social distancing requirements be enforced? How do we accommodate people with disabilities under the new CDC safety guidelines?
Are there enough supplies in the supply chain to enable local municipalities to abide by CDC & DPH guidelines to regularly clean the polling sites, the equipment?
Who will work with the Secretary of State’s Office and the Department of Public Health to make sure that guidance for town clerks are redeveloped to include public health guidelines?
Voting mechanisms in other states:
Voting Apps for people with disabilities and overseas voters
Drive By voting
Voters with disabilities:
The current legislative proposals do not address accessibility concerns for visually impaired voters and voters who are unable to vote independently. While the AutoMark machine accommodates and provides independence to voters with disabilities, COVID-19 will make it physically impossible for voters to use the machine as an accommodation. In some states, electronic voting has been implemented (where a voter could use their screen reader or other assistive device to vote on their home computer or phone). However, there needs to be an accessible alternative available to voting in person during COVID-19. People who are blind should have equal access to the ballot and should be able to vote independently in an accessible format. Remote accessible formats allow blind voters to vote independently while safely abiding with social distancing requirements. It is imperative for MA to move quickly during the next six (6) weeks in order to ensure an electronic, accessible voting system for blind registered voters.
While the adoption of vote by mail and extended early voting, will reduce crowds at polling sites and will technically , make in-person voting on AutoMark machines safer, the disability community should not be required to put their health and safety in peril while non-disabled voters are allowed to vote from home. Voters with disabilities should not be disenfranchised from the voting process due to inaccessible mail in ballots. It is up to Massachusetts to protect the health and welfare of all of its voters and not just some.
Every year, the REV UP Campaign coordinates National Disability Voter Registration Week (NDVRW) to increase the political power of people with disabilities by sharing resources and getting folks registered to vote. This year, NDVRW is scheduled for July 13-17, 2020.
States across the country are attempting to hold elections while also navigating a national pandemic. On June 10th, AAPD will bring together local, state, and national leaders to discuss the disability vote and how to get folks registered. Although some states are slowly opening up, we are preparing to support the disability vote through digital/virtual organizing techniques throughout National Disability Voter Registration Week.
This is a call you don’t want to miss for anyone interested in community organizing, voting, and political/civic engagement of people with disabilities. Please RSVP by June 5, 2020. The NDVRW Training on Digital Organizing will take place on June 10, 2020 at 3pm EST. Every year, the REV UP Campaign coordinates National Disability Voter Registration Week (NDVRW) to increase the political power of people with disabilities by sharing resources and getting folks registered to vote. This year, NDVRW is scheduled for July 13-17, 2020. Every year, the REV UP Campaign coordinates National Disability Voter Registration Week (NDVRW) to increase the political power of people with disabilities by sharing resources and getting folks registered to vote. This year, NDVRW is scheduled for July 13-17, 2020.
States across the country are attempting to hold elections while also navigating a national pandemic. On June 10th, AAPD will bring together local, state, and national leaders to discuss the disability vote and how to get folks registered. Although some states are slowly opening up, we are preparing to support the disability vote through digital/virtual organizing techniques throughout National Disability Voter Registration Week.
Register for this free, virtual summit on June 22 and June 23.
WASHINGTON, DC – Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the disability community is mobilizing. The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is proud to announce POWER the Disability Vote, a national, non-partisan Disability & Election Virtual Summit. On Monday & Tuesday, June 22 and 23 from noon to 3:45 pm ET on both days and will include panels, presentations, and a national call-to-action to mobilize disability voters and allies.
Disability groups across America are staring down the pandemic with a big question: given COVID-19’s impact on Americans with disabilities and growing numbers of voters who will acquire disabilities, will the Disability Vote be among the deciding factors in the 2020 Election?
YES – According to a 2018 Rutgers University study, 14.3 million people with disabilities voted in 2018, 49.3% of eligible voters with disabilities, compared with 40.8% in 2014. In 2020, over 35 million eligible voters will be people with disabilities, not counting those that may acquire a disability as a result of COVID-19. That number increases to at least 62.7 million when adding voters who have a household member with a disability.
“The surge in turnout among our increasingly visible, vocal, and active voting bloc is only one reason that we need to continue to build the power of the disability vote,” said AAPD President and CEO Maria Town. “We’re also thinking about how the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed significant gaps and weaknesses in public systems on which people with disabilities, among many others, rely. If elected officials, including the President, want to be elected, and expect our votes, they must address our issues.”
Last year, AAPD began organizing the Summit to galvanize a recent trend among Americans with disabilities: an 8.5% surge in voter turnout in 2018.
AAPD has organized these voters since 2016 through their REV UP (Register! Organize! Vote! Use your Power!) campaign. Currently, over 30 states have partnered with the REV UP network. With the participation of these state coalitions, plus hundreds of Americans with disabilities and the organizations that represent them, AAPD’s POWER Summit will push the Disability Vote forward as the deciding factor of the 2020 Elections.
For information on POWER The Disability Vote, visit https://www.aapd.com/advocacy/voting/revup-summit/. This event was originally scheduled for January 13, 2020 as Elected for Inclusion – the Presidential Forum on Disabilities Issues.
AAPD is a convener, connecter, and catalyst for change, increasing the political and economic power of people with disabilities. As one of the leading national cross-disability civil rights organizations, AAPD advocates for the full recognition of rights for the over 60 million Americans with disabilities. AAPD’s programs and initiatives have been effective in mobilizing the disability community through communications advocacy; cultivating and training new and emerging leaders with disabilities through leadership development programs; increasing the political participation of Americans with disabilities and elevating the power of the disability vote through the REV UP (Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power!) Campaign; and advancing disability inclusion in the workplace through the Disability Equality Index (DEI) — the nation’s leading corporate benchmarking tool for disability equality and inclusion. To learn more about AAPD, visit www.aapd.com.
AAPD’s REV UP Campaign aims to increase the political participation of the disability community while also engaging candidates and the media on disability issues. AAPD works with state and national coalitions on effective, non-partisan campaigns to address the concerns of people with disabilities, eliminate barriers to voting, promote accessibility of voting; educate communities about issues and candidates; promote turnout of voters with disabilities across the country; and engage candidates and the media on disability issues.
In an effort to inform the disability community of the presidential candidate’s disability policy positions, initiatives, and priorities, the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) have developed a presidential candidate questionnaire. Read more about the question and answers at this link: https://mailchi.mp/aapd/announcing-the-2019-aapd-paul-g-hearne-leadership-awards-193341?e=2c358d98d6
Save the date for the 2020 REV UP MA Strategy Meeting!
2020 is a national election year. The goal of this meeting is to continue to strategize and develop concrete objectives on getting people with disabilities registered to vote, educated on the candidates and issues, and to the polls on Election Day on November 3, 2020.
When: Friday, May 29, 2020, 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Where: AC Hotel, 125 Front Street, Worcester
Please Note: Out of consideration for people with environmental illness and/or multiple chemical sensitivity, please refrain from using perfume or other scented products.
Transportation: The Framingham Worcester Commuter Rail line leaves from South Station and goes to Worcester. The train schedule is at www.mbta.com. The train is a 5 minute walk to the hotel. If you need transportation to and from the train station, please let us know and we will try to help.
Photos from the 2018 REV UP Forum
Marlene Sallo, ED at DLC, opens the May, 2018 REV UP Forum in MarlboroCommissioner Thomas Hicks (EAC)Zach Baldwin (AAPD)Richard Villavicencio and audience member ask question
From the Philadelphia Inquirer by Stephanie Lai, October 20, 2019
A study at Rutgers University shows that more people with disabilities are being elected to local, state and federal government with the greatest proportion at the local level. The Massachusetts disability community has great advocates in Massachusetts who should run for office!
