Background The New York State Board of Elections has still not developed a plan to provide accessible, reliable voting machines - even with years of time for preparation, research and implementation, and a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice.
To add insult to injury, they wasted time and resources last week, asking election commissioners to estimate "how many people with disabilities live in their counties" and "how many people with disabilities vote." How is this going to get New York State into compliance, and polling places, ballots and voting machines ready for primaries and elections in 2006? Efforts and energy need to be directed toward amending state election law and a court-mandated HAVA implementation plan with a due date of April 10th.
The Statewide Network of Disability Advocates is pushing state elected officials to respond to a simple, two-question survey. Officials are basically being asked why they continue to support policies that prevent people with disabilities from voting privately and independently, like everyone else?
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Your action is needed to turn up the heat on New York State! Apply some pressure and increase the likelihood that state elected officials will respond to a simple voting accessibility survey and do the right thing related to our voting access. Please take the following steps:
1) Before Thursday morning, April 6, 2006, click on the Center for Disability Rights (CDR) website link
Disability Rights Advocate
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