Courtesy Posting - ICUB & NFBI - Action Needed for Accessible Absentee Ballots

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Iowa Department for the Blind Logo

Dear members and friends,

As you may know, the Iowa Council of the United Blind (ICUB) and the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa (NFBI) have been collaborating closely to implement accessible absentee voting in Iowa. Initially, Secretary of State Paul Pate had been open to making absentee ballots accessible to blind and disabled Iowans. This is no longer the case, and now his resistance is risking the lives of blind and disabled Iowans. If we want to cast a truly independent and private vote, we will be forced to go to our polling places where we may very likely be exposed to COVID-19 and its consequences.

At least twenty states have already implemented accessible absentee balloting for their blind and disabled citizens. It is a simple process. The voter with a visual impairment or disability asks the county auditor to send an absentee ballot electronically. The voter uses their own computer software to read, fill out, and print the absentee ballot on paper. The voter then delivers the printed absentee ballot to the county auditor through the U.S. mail or in person in the envelopes provided by the county auditor. This process can be put in place in just a week after approval by Iowa’s Legislative Council, but Secretary Pate must first ask for its approval. He has not done so.

It is time for Iowa’s absentee voting process to be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Help Americans Vote Act (HAVA), and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as Amended. More important, it is time for Iowa to offer a safe alternative to in-person voting that is private and independent to its blind and disabled citizens. But to make this happen, we need your help. We want you and your family and friends to inundate Secretary Pate and members of the Executive Council with phone calls and emails. Tell them you shouldn’t have to risk your life to exercise your right to vote privately and independently. Ask Secretary Pate why he is not asking the Legislative Council to approve accessible absentee voting. Tell him you want him to make that request now. Ask members of the Legislative Council why Secretary Pate is putting blind and disabled voters at risk by not asking them to approve accessible absentee voting. This year, it is projected that up to 80% of Iowa’s voters will cast their ballots by absentee. Secretary Pate has just announced that he will join their ranks.

Below you will find contact information for Secretary Pate and the members of the Legislative Council. The first list contains their phone numbers and email addresses. The second is a group of email addresses for the Legislative Council that you can simply copy and paste into the “to box” in your email message. You can also find contact information for your own legislators by going to https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find and then entering your home address.

If we all act promptly, it is possible that we can have accessible absentee voting in Iowa by the general election in November. Voting is one of the most important responsibilities we have in our political process. The fact that blind and other disabled Iowans cannot take advantage of absentee voting is not only a violation of law but of our rights as citizens of this great country. We will no longer stand aside and watch the opportunity to vote pass us by. We should not be asked to risk our lives to vote privately and independently.

Thank you in advance for your help. Please contact us if you have any questions or need assistance.

Carrie Chapman, President
Iowa Council of the United Blind
Tel: 1-866-436-0141
email: president@icublind.org

Scott Van Gorp, President
National Federation of the Blind of Iowa
Tel: 515-720-5282
Email: svangorp@nfbi.org

Contact Information for Secretary of State and Legislative Council

Secretary of State Paul Pate
sos@sos.iowa.gov
515-281-0145

jack.whitver@legis.iowa.gov
515.281.3371

joe.bolkcom@legis.iowa.gov
joe@joebolkcom.org (home)
319.337.6280

jerry.behn@legis.iowa.gov
515.432.7327

jake.chapman@legis.iowa.gov
jake@votejakechapman.com (home)
515.650.3942

randy.feenstra@legis.iowa.gov
712.439.1244

pam.jochum@legis.iowa.gov
563.580.2980

jim.lykam@legis.iowa.gov
563.391.1919