Virginia Accessible Voting Information from the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia (NFBV)

National Federation of the Blind of Virginia

Accessible Voting for Blind Virginians

Disclaimer:

The information in this document is correct to the best of our knowledge. However, we believe that aspects of the Virginia accessible voting consent decree are still being finalized. The purpose of this document is to give you important information regarding accessible voting and to invite you to attend informational sessions on the accessible voting consent decree. These information and training sessions are developed and presented by the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia (NFBV). We have prepared these materials and sessions as assistance for all blind and visually impaired persons in the Commonwealth of Virginia

Vote! Vote! Vote!

Here’s how:

The following link is to the Virginia Citizen Portal, where you can register, check your registration status, change your address or voter registration information, receive information about and the location of your local polling place, order an absentee ballot and request accessible voting assistance:

https://www.elections.virginia.gov/citizen-portal/

Checking registration:

(Filling out these form fields sometimes causes VoiceOver to lose focus on an iPhone based on some user experience. However, those using PC’s and MacBooks report no issues with VoiceOver, JAWS, NVDA, or Chrome. There have been some issues with Firefox, where Firefox attempts to demand that you make it the default browser. However, persistence eventually pays off.)

The fields appear in this order:

First Name

Last Name

Date of Birth (two digit month, two-digit day, four-digit year, with the slashes filling in automatically);

Last four digits of your SSN

Locality (A combo box, or drop-down menu where you will select your county of residence)

You must then check a certifying statement stating that you are the voter whose status is being checked or someone designated by the voter to do so. Then hit Submit.

If all goes well, you will see a page with your name. If your registration status is active, your precinct, and related information will also be displayed. If you are not yet registered, you will need to fill out the following additional fields: whether you are a citizen, whether you are in the military or a veteran, your Virginia ID card number, and whether you are currently registered to vote in another state. If you are currently registered to vote in another state, you must select that state. It generally takes only a few days to be registered, although during this time of significantly greater activity, it is advised to register sooner rather than later. If you want to vote, do not wait until the last minute. (The registration deadline for the November 3, 2020, general election in Virginia is October 13.)

Local Registrar:

You can locate information for your local registrar of voters at www.elections.virginia.gov/localgr. From that page click or enter Local Voter Registration Office. That page gives links to registration and finding your voting precinct among other useful information.

Accessible Voting:

There are various means of accessible voting available: you can receive assistance at a polling place; use an accessible voting machine; receive curbside voting assistance in a vehicle by having someone alert a polling official that you are in a vehicle outside and wish to vote; and, of course, you may order an absentee ballot to be filled out, and mailed or placed in a drop box. The accessible voting consent decree allows you to fill out the absentee ballot electronically, print the ballot, and mail or place it in a drop box.

Accessible Voting Training:

On September 29 at 8:00 PM, you may join a Zoom training offered by Voting Works which details how to use the Voting Works accessible marking tool, or you may attend a training that the affiliate will present on October 3 between 10:00 AM and noon. See Zoom information below for these events.

Practicing Using the Marking Tool:

If you just want to see what using the marking tool will be like, or want to test your technology, you may practice as much as you like at the following link:

https://demo.access.vote/

You will use the following information in the edit fields for practice, not your own personally identifiable information. Again, use the below to practice, not your own name, birth date, and/or an ID code you make up yourself:

First Name: Demo

Last Name: Voter

Date of Birth (DoB): 01/01/1980

Access PIN: 040665

Requesting your accessible ballot:

Complete the absentee request form online, check the box that says you need assistance, and provide your email or phone number. The registrar is supposed to contact you to ask if you need an accessible electronic ballot. Alternatively, if you’ve already filled out the absentee application, you can call your local election official and tell them you want an accessible electronic ballot. You will still get the paper absentee ballot packet with the return envelopes, so you can return the completed ballot by mail if you wish.

The ballot package contains three envelopes. These include an envelope for returning the completed ballot, a privacy envelope which should be sealed after the completed ballot is placed inside, and a sealed envelope containing a ballot. After completing your electronic ballot and printing it, place your ballot in the privacy envelope and sign that envelope anywhere. Then you put privacy envelope in the outer envelope, which will have a tactile marking on it (like a hole punch, corner cut, or tactile sticker) so you can recognize it. Finally you will mail it back or place it in a ballot drop box.

If you do not have a printer, prepare in advance by locating a friend, library, civic association, bank, pharmacy, or business which is willing to print the ballot for you. We are currently working on finding sources for blind Virginians to access printers reliably if they do not own one or have easy access to one.

If you have any significant issues, contact the Board of elections for the Commonwealth via this link:

https://www.elections.virginia.gov/contact-us/

If you have any difficulties with these tasks, reach out and we will do our best to assist you promptly.

Topic: Voting Works Q&A Zoom Meeting:

Time: Sep 29, 2020 08:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/97557348567?pwd=TTByMWh3MHRzdkM4YUt2OEFiNC9Sdz09

Meeting ID: 975 5734 8567

Passcode: 763418

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