Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Board of Elections Wants to Hear From YOU

The Board of Elections Wants to Hear From YOU!

Have something to say about voting--especially accessibility? Did you encounter problems voting? Were you treated appropriately by poll workers? The State Board of Elections, along with local county boards of elections, is conducting workshops in your area about voting accessibility. According to the State Board of Elections, they are really looking for people in the community to come to these meetings to let them know about accessibility and assistance issues. It seems like it will be a good opportunity to communicate concerns about voting to officials at the local and state level. As always, I encourage you to contact Disability Rights North Carolina at the contact info below if you have experienced problems voting or have related questions/concerns.

Elizabeth Edwards
Attorney, Voting Rights Fellow
Disability Rights NC
2626 Glenwood Avenue, Suite 550
Raleigh, NC 27608
Phone: 919-856-2195
TTY: 1-888-268-5535
Fax: 919-856-2244
elizabeth.edwards@disabilityrightsnc.org
http://www.disabilityrightsnc.org


Dear Citizen or Citizen Group,

The State Board of Elections in cooperation with local county boards of elections is conducting an “Ensure Voting Accessibility” workshop in your area. We invite you to participate in the workshop to discuss the progress of disability accessibility and assistance to voters and listen to the concerns of all citizens about these issues. Accessibility and assistance issues as they pertain to elderly voters will also be discussed.

The workshops will occur:

In Alamance County on Monday, May 19, 2008 from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Alamance Community College Auditorium located at 1247 Jimmie Kerr Road,
Graham, NC.

In Buncombe County on Monday, June 2nd from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the AB-Tech Ferguson Auditorium located at 340 Victoria Road, Asheville, N.C.

In Craven County on Monday, June 23, 2008 from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Craven Community College Auditorium located at 800 College Court, New Bern, NC.

In Cumberland County on Friday, June 27, 2008 from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Cumberland County North Regional Library located at 855 McArthur Road, Fayetteville, NC, 28311-1961

In Catawba County on Monday, July 14, 2008 from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Catawba County Main Library located at 115 West ‘C’ Street, Newton, NC.

Issues to be discussed include recent experiences at precincts for the disabled and elderly, how poll workers can better help these types of voters, and the accessibility features of voting machines including actual demonstrations of the machines. Audience questions, feedback, experiences and suggestions will be welcomed at all times. We encourage you to invite any other persons or groups that you might think would be interested.

We hope these workshops will serve as an educational tool for election professionals and workers. The workshops will provide a forum for people with accessibility issues to make sure their concerns are made known. We hope to see you at one of the workshops.

To confirm your attendance please contact Maria Elena Williams or Candi Rhinehart at 1-866-522-4723 or (919)733-7173. We look forward to meeting you,

Don Wright
General Counsel

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