Voting Rights for the Blind

WHEREAS
the right to cast an independent and  private vote is a foundation of full citizenship in this State and Country; and

WHEREAS
current voting machines and methods currently in use in the State of Florida are not accessible to the blind;  leaving blind people dependent on polling personnel to read, mark, and cast ballots for them; and

WHEREAS
voting personnel are largely volunteers and not governed by the codes that regulate professional behavior; and

WHEREAS
the freedom to independently vote with dignity and privacy has been denied to the blind citizens of the State of Florida; and

WHEREAS
the technology that will allow blind people to vote is readily available, and would give blind and visually impaired citizens full access to read the complete ballot and to vote with complete independence:  Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED
by the National Federation of the Blind of Florida, in convention assembled, this second day of September, 2j001, in the city of Tampa, Florida,  that this organization demand that the Florida Civil Rights Commission and the Florida Secretary of State be charged with and urged to form written policy statements on this issue, to promote full dignity, privacy and independence for all Florida citizens.