Judge Hilton of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued an order in the Gary v. Virginia Dept. of Elections (Case No. 1:20-CV-860) that allows voters with a print disability to use a ballot marking tool with screen reader assistive technology to cast an absentee ballot.
Accessible Absentee Voting
If you are blind or have low vision or have impaired manual dexterity, you have the option of voting an absentee ballot using an electronic ballot marking tool. If you choose this option for voting absentee, your ballot will be delivered electronically and will include screen reader technology. If you are interested in using this service to vote absentee, mark the section on your absentee ballot application indicating you need assistance voting your ballot. Your General Registrar’s office will contact you with information on how to take advantage of this option.
For more information, please contact your General Registrar’s office. You can find contact information on the Virginia Department of Elections’ online lookup tool.
How This Affects You
The court’s order requires General Registrars to allow voters who indicate they are blind or have low vision or impaired manual dexterity (“print disability”) to cast an absentee ballot using a ballot marking tool with screen reader assistive technology. The Department of Elections is making the necessary arrangements to utilize KNOWiNK’s myBallot solution to comply with the court’s order.
ELECT is amending the absentee ballot instructions as required by the court. Because of additional changes that will likely be required by the General Assembly and by a separate court order relating to witness signatures, the instructions are not yet complete and will be provided as soon as possible. ELECT will provide notice when the absentee instructions are finalized and ready for use.
Action Items
Please carefully read the attached ELECT Official Guidance related to this matter. The Official Guidance provides important instructions and processes for complying with the court order.
Contact
Region 1 (Tidewater)
Zakia Williams: Zakia.Williams@elections.virginia.gov; (804) 864-8954
Regions 2 & 5 (South Central & Northern)
Taylor Melton: Taylor.Melton@elections.virginia.gov; (804) 593-2274
Regions 3 & 6 (North Central & Western)
Keith Balmer: Keith.Balmer@elections.virginia.gov; (804) 864-8908
Regions 4 & 7 (Southwest & Southern)
Tanya Pruett: Tanya.Pruett@elections.virginia.gov; (804) 864-8931
Resources
Fact Sheets
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Exercising Your Right to Vote in 2020
In this episode, advocate Joliefawn Liddell, and two of our legal interns, Mary Grace Whitten & Camille Karabaich, share with us all about the updated voting laws in Virginia. A lot of things have changed as of July 1, 2020, and due to COVID-19, so tune in to stay up to date with all the new procedures and deadlines. You can find out more information about voting in Virginia on our Voting page.
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