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Subject: FW: Testimony Request RE Voting Accessibility
-----Original Message----- From: owner-justice@jfanow.org [mailto:owner-justice@jfanow.org]On Behalf Of Justice For All Moderator Sent: Monday, May 31, 2004 11:52 PM To: justice@jfanow.org Subject: Testimony Request RE Voting Accessibility "Testimony Request RE Voting Accessibility" Angela Katsakis of AAPD's Disability Vote Project <aapdvote@earthlink.net> writes: If you've had problems with inaccessible voting systems or have been hassled at the polls, then the Election Administration Commission wants to know (see the announcement that follows). If you've had problems with punch cards, optical scans and lever machines, describe them in your testimony. Submit testimony by June 4, 2004, to testimony@eac.gov or to the Election Administration Commission, 1225 New York Avenue, Suite 1100, Washington, DC, 20005. Remember to include your contact information. Kelly Anthony, Director of the Missouri Disability Vote Coalition, is testifying for the Election Assistance Commission to discuss the impact of the provisional ballot on people with disabilities. The hearing is open to the public and the notice is posted below and attached. BACKGROUND: This November, only about 8% of the nation will be voting on accessible voting systems. Most Americans will vote on punch card, optical scan and mechanical lever machine, as they did in the 2000 election. Each type of voting system is inaccessible for different reasons. Another problem with these voting systems is that they do not count votes as accurately as accessible touchscreen machines. For example, in the October California recall election, punchcards failed to count 6% of the vote, optical scan failed to count 3% and touchscreens failed to count 1.5% of the votes. Besides being accessible, touchscreens count more votes, are simpler to administer, and, in the long run, cost less to purchase and operate. Poorly trained pollworkers will deny the right to vote to a person with a disability because the pollworker believes the person is 'too disabled' to cast an informed vote or because they cannot find the voter's name on the registration list. Prior to HAVA, only 15 states offered a provisional ballot. A provisional ballot, a new HAVA requirement, mandates that anyone who is told by a pollworker s/he cannot vote, according to the Help America Vote Act, should be offered a provisional ballot. After the rush of Election Day, during the canvass (official counting of the ballots), the voter's registration is verified and that ballot is counted. Angela Katsakis Disability Vote Project Coordinator AAPD (American Association of People with Disabilities) 1629 K Street, NW, Suite 503 Washington, DC 20006 1-800-840-8844 (V/TTY) VOTE AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT, BECAUSE IT DOES. ============================= U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION 1225 New York Ave. NW - Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20005 SUNSHINE ACT NOTICES AGENCY: United States Election Assistance Commission DATE & TIME: Thursday, June 3, 2004, at 9:00 A.M PLACE: Loyola University Water Tower Campus 25 East Pearson Chicago, IL 60611 15th Floor Kasbeer Hall STATUS: This Meeting Will Be Open to the Public. NOTE: Early Arrival: Those Attending Are Advised to Arrive Early for Registration and Security Check PURPOSE: To Conduct a Public Hearing to Identify Best Practices, Problems and Transition Issues Associated with Optical Scan, Punch Card, and Lever Machine Voting Systems and the Success and Problems Identified with the Use of Provisional Voting. The Following Witness Panels Will Be Presented: Punchcard Panel, Lever Machine Panel, Optical Scan Panel and Provisional Vote Panel PERSON TO CONTACT FOR INFORMATION: Bryan Whitener (202) 566-3100 # # # ===================== JOIN AAPD! There's strength in numbers! Be a part of a national coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today. http://www.aapd-dc.org JFA ARCHIVES. All JFA postings from 1995 to present are available at: http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html NOTE: Some Internet Providers (including AOL, Earthlink and Juno) may see JFA postings as spam because of the large volume of JFA mail recipients and fail to deliver the posting. If this happens, the JFA system may automatically unsubscribe some email addresses. 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