voting access

[Doug Henwood]

>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 12:00:05 -0600
>From: Tobi Hale <haletobi at charter.net>
>To: AAalerts <armchairactivist at yahoogroups.com>
>Subject: [L-News] voting access
>
>This will impact all people in the non-dominant culture most.
>Those with disabilities in the dominant culture will also be impacted.
>It has far-reaching implications.
>Can we claim that we are not being represented if we can't have
>a private and confidential ballot? Please act on this!! T.
>
>"ACTION ALERT!! Voting Reform Conference"
>
>Erik Darcey of the AAPD Disability Vote Project
><adinatopfer at earthlink.net> writes:
>
>The House/Senate conference on voting accessibility and
>election reform has been appointed.
>
>Congress will be home for the Memorial Day Work Period from
>May 24th to June 3rd.  Contact your members, and urge them
>to support the following items.  If your Senator or
>Congressperson is on the conference, request a meeting
>while he or she is home!
>
>We want the final bill to combine the best from the Senate
>and the House bills.  From the Senate legislation, we want
>to:
>
>1) Drop the Thomas Amendment (Sec. 514), which exempts
>    communities of less than 50,000 from all disability
>    mandates.
>
>2) Keep the following features:
>
>   a) By 2007 there will be one (1) accessible machine in
>      every polling place.  This is fully funded!
>   b) The Access-Board sets new accessibility standards with
>      the FEC every four (4) years.
>   c) A $100 million physical access fund (80% Federal/20%
>      State and local) will be created to make polling
>      places accessible to all voters.
>   d) A $10 million fund will be given to the Protection and
>      Advocacy system, in order to provide education,
>      technical assistance, and monitoring of voting access.
>
>The House bill does NOT require a photo I.D. for first time
>voters.  We want to modify the Senatorial photo I.D.
>requirement to make voting less restrictive to persons with
>disabilities, the poor, students and minorities.
>
>The conferees are as follows:
>
>Ney (R-18th OH)
>Reynolds (R-27th NY)
>Doolittle (R-4th CA)
>Ehlers (R-3rd MI)
>Blunt (R-7th MO)
>Fattah (D-2nd PA)
>Jim Davis (D-11th FL)
>Hoyer (D-5th MD)
>Stump (R-3rd AZ)
>McHugh (R-24th NY)
>Skelton (D-4th MO)
>Sensenbrenner (R-9th WI)
>Chabot (R-1st OH)
>Conyers (D-14th MI)
>Boehlert (R-23rd NY)
>Morella (R-8th MD)
>Barcia (D-5th MI)
>Thomas (R-21st CA)
>Shaw(R-22nd FL)
>Rangel (D-15th NY)
>
>Dodd (D-CT)
>Schumer (D-NY)
>Durbin (D-IL)
>McConnell (R-KY)
>Bond (R-MO)
>
>Thanks to all of your help, this legislation has the chance
>to be truly historic.
>
>Erik Darcey
>Interim Project Director
>AAPD Disability Vote Project
>1629 K Street, NW Suite 802
>Washington, DC 20006
>(202) 955-6114
>www.aapd-dc.org
>Tobi Hale, MSW
>It ain't my revolution if it ain't accessible!