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ALinker

CMT Awareness Month

Website/Blog, Twitter, & Instagram Handle

Facebook, @gayleweenie on Instagram

Name *

Lisa Weiner

Disorder Info

What is your disorder? *

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

How To Vote By Mail In California: 2020 General Election: August 25, 2020 (full article detailed below).

https://patch.com/california/across-ca/how-vote-mail-california-2020-general-election

“Once your mailed-in ballot is completed, it can be inserted into the provided envelope and sent to your local county elections office.

You can also return your ballot by:

Bringing it in-person to any nearby polling place or elections office before 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 3.

Dropping it into one of your county's ballot drop boxes before 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Authorizing someone else to return the ballot on your behalf. (If you do this, you must fill out the authorization form on the back of the ballot envelope you receive.)

If you are not yet registered to vote, you can register online here, up until October 19. California also offers same-day registration, which can be done on Election Day at your local polling place.

If you need to change your address to vote by mail, you can:

Write to your local county elections official

Fill out this online application, print, sign, and date it, and then mail it to your county elections office. (Also available in Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese)

Or, fill out the application printed on the voter information guide, which is mailed to every voter by their county elections office before the election

Visit the California Secretary of State's website for more information about how to vote in this fall's General Election.”

CA 2020 Election: Voting In Person; What To Know: September 30, 2020 (click link below for full article)

https://patch.com/california/across-ca/ca-2020-election-voting-person-what-know

Main points:

*Governor Gavin Newsom made an executive order to mail absentee ballots to every registered voter in California.

Though everyone will get a ballot in the mail, some will inevitably need to visit a polling place for many reasons — for lost or damaged ballots or for language or disability assistance. Some will need to register last minute on Election Day, which state law allows at polling sites.

In person voting: begins as early as October 31 and ends on election day, Tuesday, November 3, at 8 PM. There will be fewer polling places per county than usual, so as to limit spiraling lines/congestion and mitigate spread of COVID-19. Also, due to pandemic, many usual polling locations i.e., retirement homes, community centers and churches are closed.

Find your polling place by using this form on the California Secretary of State's website. California Secretary of State, Elections Division, 1500 11th St., 5th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: (916) 657-2166, (800) 345-VOTE (8683), (800) 833-8683 (TTY/TDD) Website: www.sos.ca.gov/elections/

Register to vote or check if your registration status is active here.

If voting in person, you should bring your mailed ballot with you to your nearest polling place. Since all CA voters were mailed ballots this year, this is proof that you didn't already mail your ballot and vote twice.

However, if you forget to bring your ballot to polling place, or it became lost in the mail, you may need to vote provisionally. This means that your vote may be subject to a screening. Officials may want to verify your registration status or confirm that it wasn't already mailed. With these extra steps, a vote may not be counted on Nov. 3, but it will eventually.

Also, voters should arrive with the proper COVID-19 protective gear. Poll workers are instructed to keep their distance and wear masks. They will provide face coverings to voters who need them.

Voting with a Disability: 

Federal law requires that people with disabilities have access to vote on Election Day.

Federal law requires at least one accessible voting system in every in-person voting center. However, it’s best to connect with your local election officials to confirm an accessible polling location in your area.

If your assigned polling location is not accessible, you have the right to be reassigned to an accessible polling place or to be provided an alternative method of voting.

If you encounter a barrier when you arrive, talk with a poll worker or election judge present to make accommodations.

A person has the right to ask to vote curbside, in a car/vehicle if the polling place is not accessible.

A person has the right to have a friend, family member, or polling staff help them to vote. The Voting Rights Act of 1964 states that any voter requiring assistance to vote because of a disability will have the ability to bring a person of their choice to assist them in casting their ballot. Though polling staff should be trained in accessible voting, that may not be reality at your polling location.

A person also has the right to refuse help with voting if they don’t need it.

Other voting resources: 

For general and accurate voting information: https://vote.gov/ and https://www.healthyvoting.org/

You can track your ballot on California’s ballot tracker: https://california.ballottrax.net/voter/

American Association of People with Disabilities; https://www.aapd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/State-Voting-Guide-California.pdf (this is a thorough guide of voting resources including ones detailed below).

To request remote accessible vote by mail, need to request by October 27. https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-resources/remote-accessible-vote-mail

National Association of the Deaf (NAD); American sign language (ASL) voting hotline: 301-818-VOTE or 301-818-8683; https://www.nad.org/asl-voter-hotline/

National Federation of the Blind (NFB): they have voting information you can download in Word, braille, Word in Spanish, braille in Spanish, and a specific guide for young people, also in braille. They also have voter guide videos in English and Spanish. https://www.nfb.org/programs-services/center-excellence-nonvisual-access/national-center-nonvisual-election-3.

Self advocates becoming empowered for voting and guardianship. Website includes informative videos on how to deal with potential voting problems at polling location. <a href="https://www.sabeusa.org/govoter/voting-info/voting-and-guard