Framingham voters who select a Democratic primary ballot will see a blank space for their State Rep. Representative Chris Walsh passed away in May, leaving insufficient time for candidates to apply to be on the September primary ballot. As a result, the Democratic primary candidate for his seat will be determined by write ins on the ballot.
The Framingham Source has more information on the race. FraminghamSource.com
The Boston Globe has put together guides for several races around the state.
Visit their website for some valuable information: www.bostonglobe.com/section/2018-primary-election-guide
Launched by the Center for American Progress (CAP), a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C., the new project intends to “include disability expertise in all internal conversations and projects, while modeling the necessity and utility of such inclusion to other groups that work in progressive spaces”. …”disability isn’t a niche issue; there are over 57 million Americans with disabilities”…
Read the article from the Pacific Standard. Published August 14, 2018 by David M. Perry
One of the closest primary races led to what the Boston Globe called a rancorous battle at their debate on August 14. You can watch it on YouTube below.
Vote Together is a crowdsourcing effort to bring neighbors together to plan local celebrations at polling places. ” From backyard BBQs to block parties and parades, families, friends, and neighbors are making voting a time of togetherness and fun.”
REV UP MA voters can participate by signing up on their website. http://votetogetherusa.org/ . Make a plan to vote, go to vote together, and then celebrate being awesome citizens!
I would encourage everybody to get in the habit of using the Automark. They will get used to it. They will test it. And it is working. And it helps to support universal access. And it helps us to reinforce to them that anybody can use it, and that it needs to be in working condition over the last bunch of elections.
– Stan Eichner, DLC
Comments and Topics from Participants:
July 2, 2018
Massachusetts requires voters to be registered 20 days before primary and state/national elections. At least 15 states have same day registration. The ACLU sued the state, but the state Supreme Court upheld the 20 day restriction. The legislature could change this by passing a law that allows same day registration.
For our upcoming elections, this means that you must be registered by Wednesday, August 15 for the September 4 primary, and by Wednesday, October 17 for the November 6 election.
You can read an article by Nate Raymond (Reuters) about this case in the Huffington Post. …”The ACLU contended the 20-day restriction disenfranchises thousands of otherwise qualified voters. According to a brief the state filed, 34 states have deadlines requiring voters to register seven to 30 days before elections.”
by Greg Cameron, Nonprofit Vote (JohnsonCenter.org/nonprofit-voters)
“Additionally, post-program surveys show us the roots of civic engagement success at these nonprofits. Things like staff buy-in, partnerships, and engaging multiple venues and audiences were crucial elements to successful civic engagement activities. By learning from the success of these nonprofits, nonprofits new to the space can get a jump start on their own program roll-outs.”
Nonprofit Vote – Engaging New Voters (pdf)
Stanford University Business School, using behavioral science research, has compiled some interesting results. “Researchers applying psychology to the realm of politics are finding that giving voters a few strategic nudges can push far more people in the direction of polls on election day.”
Read Research-Backed Ways to Get Out the Vote (published April 17, 2012) at gsb.stanford.edu.
Updated May 21
The conference was very well attended with people from a wide variety of organizations. We will be sending out materials from the conference to help everyone be more active going forward.
The federal and state election officials left us all with the feeling that they all are trying very hard to ensure that all polling locations are accessible to everyone. In spite of their efforts, we are not at 100%, but they were knowledgeable on the issues, and seemed intent on continuing to fix barriers.
Going forward, we have two important and related goals – to register people with disabilities to vote, and to Get Out The Vote in November. We also need to continue to be vigilant and ensure all events and venues are accessible to everyone. Our emails will provide opportunities to become active as we determine how to best achieve these goals.
Thank you very much to the panel members who made the effort to attend, to update us on current efforts, and to listen to our concerns.
Speakers:
Cheryl Cumings, Founder/Executive Director of Our Space Our Place, Inc. will discuss access issues. Soon after entering high school, Cheryl contracted encephalitis and became blind. She completed her BA at Princeton University and a graduate degree at The fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. She worked at the Pentagon, Peace Corps, Massachusetts Commission for the blind and the University of Massachusetts medical school.Cheryl is a member of the Boston Chapter of the Bay State council of the blind and a Board Member of the Disability Policy consortium. She is also the Chair of the Disability Outreach Committee of the State Committee of the Massachusetts Democratic Party. Cheryl was an elector for the 2016 Electoral College.
Anne Fracht and Juliana Huerena, Vote Team with See Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) – they will be presenting and discussing the results of their 2016 Voter Election Survey Report and the services that they offer to election officials and people with disabilities to make voting accessible for all citizens. Here is a link to their pdf report: http://www.sabeusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2016-Voter-Survey-Final-Report-28229.pdf
In 2005 she founded Our Space Our Place, Inc.(OSOP) OSOP is a nonprofit which provides an after school and career exploration program for blind or low vision youth.
Friday, May 18, 2018, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade Center
Marlborough, Massachusetts
2018, even without a presidential election, is an extremely important year for people with disabilities. Many if not all supports, services and civil rights have been under attack. While we have been largely protected in MA, voting has never been more important. Multiple studies have shown that people with disabilities are under-represented, and could make a difference in many contests if they showed up at the polls.
The goal for the conference is to identify barriers to voting, address the need to get out the vote for the upcoming midterms, and then identify a game plan on how we can all work together to improve voter accessibility – both through voter registration and elimination of voting barriers (issues with physical accessibility, ballots, equipment, communicating with election officials, right to vote (guardianship concerns), and other difficulties). After lunch we plan a frank discussion about obstacles faced by people with disabilities leading up to and on election day. We will have self-advocates address the participants and we will then work in small groups to identify a collaborative action plan that can be implemented by the attendees and others to address identified barriers.
Published in the Eagle Tribune May 4, 2018 by Keith Eddings
We have not solved ADA access to the polls!
www.eagletribune.com