www.nfb.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
James Gashel, Director of Strategic Initiatives, jgashel@nfb.org, 410-659-9314, ext. 2218

Patricia Maurer, Director of Community Relations, communityrelations@nfb.org, 410-659-9314, ext. 2272

Barbara Pierce, NFB of Ohio President, bbpierce@pobox.com, 440-775-2216

BALTIMORE, MD (APRIL 20, 2004)­The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) today charged the Controlling Board and Ohio Secretary of State with failure to provide voting machines and voting systems that are accessible to blind voters. The NFB filed a complaint in United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio alleging violation of blind Ohioans' civil rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

The complaint, filed by the Ohio Legal Rights Service on behalf of the NFB; the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, and blind voters Barbara Pierce, Keni April Reisinger, Jeff Tolle, and Donny Boggs, names Secretary of State Kenneth J. Blackwell, Ohio Controlling Board President Lisa H. Dodge and its Board members, as well as 31 county boards of elections, as defendants.

The complaint argues that, although the barriers imposed by the current voting systems and ballots can be readily eliminated through the use of existing technology or through modifications to existing technology, the Controlling Board has refused to approve the request of the Secretary of State and the Defendant counties to use federal funds available to Ohio to purchase accessible voting systems that use this technology because of a dispute over methods to achieve ballot security.

"Obviously the National Federation of the Blind wants a secure voting system," said NFB President Marc Maurer. "But the Federation believes that electronic voting systems have been proven to be more secure than either punch-card or lever voting machines. The prolonged security debate only continues to disenfranchise blind voters," Maurer said.

"Blind voters in Ohio want to vote the same way that sighted Ohioans cast their ballots ­secretly and independently at their local polling places­ but because the Controlling Board has failed to implement accessible voting machines, we continue to be denied the right to do so," said NFB of Ohio President Barbara Pierce. "Ohio voting machines currently use ballots that must be read, so blind voters must ask a third party to mark the ballot, which means instructing a spouse or friend or even two poll workers in the hearing of anyone standing nearby," Pierce said.

The individual plaintiffs say that they wish to cast their votes for the candidates of their choice in person at their local polling places on election day the way nondisabled voters do. The Controlling Board of Ohio provides legislative oversight over certain capital and operating expenditures by state agencies and has approval authority over various other state fiscal activities. The Ohio Secretary of State oversees the elections process and appoints the members of the boards of elections in each of Ohio's 88 counties.

About the NFB:

With more than 50,000 members and 700 local and state affiliates and chapters, the National Federation of the Blind, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the United States. NFB members believe that with effective training and equal opportunity blind people can reduce the impact of this disability from tragedy to physical nuisance. The NFB improves blind people's lives through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and self-confidence. The NFB, known as the voice of the nation's blind, is the leading force in the blindness field today.