Thursday on Facebook Live: Learn about Ohio’s new absentee voting option

October 2, 2018 by Disability Rights Ohio Communications Specialist Stacy Brannan-Smith / voting

Voters with vision impairments and other print disabilities now have a new option to cast an absentee ballot.

Previously, Ohio’s absentee voting process was entirely paper-based, which meant people who couldn’t read text on a page or use a pen to write had no choice but to trust someone else to mark their absentee ballot for them. This lack of accessibility took away their right to cast their ballot privately and independently. In 2015, DRO filed Hindel v. Husted, a lawsuit that sought to remedy this problem by pushing the state of Ohio to provide an accessible tool for marking an absentee ballot. That goal has now been reached!

At 11:30 a.m. Thursday, October 4, Disability Rights Ohio will broadcast a Facebook Live event from the Franklin County Board of Elections, where we will talk about and demonstrate the new remote absentee ballot marking tool. Shelbi Hindel, one of the three blind voters we represented in the lawsuit, will be there to explain what the new tool means to her and show us how the tool works. To tune in, visit our Facebook page. Edit: The video is now available on our Facebook page and YouTube channel. 

If you wish to request to use the remote absentee ballot marking tool, you can fill out this new application form in PDF or HTML. You can find more information about the absentee voting process in our recent blog.

REMINDER: Ohio’s voting registration deadline is one week away

The deadline to register to vote in the November 6th General Election is next Tuesday, October 9! Register if you haven’t – either on paper or online – and make sure all your friends are registered, too. Lots more details can be found in our blog post last week.
And, as always, if you have any problems or questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.