San Mateo County Chief Elections Officer Mark Church Wednesday announced the release of a new Accessible Vote by Mail system for disabled and visually impaired voters. The new Accessible Vote by Mail system allows disabled and visually impaired voters to access and mark their ballot in a screen-readable format using their personal computers. San Mateo County will be the first county in the State of California to deploy an Accessible Vote by Mail system for disabled and visually impaired voters, as authorized under AB 2252 Remote Accessible Vote by Mail Systems. “Once again, San Mateo County is at the forefront of expanding voting opportunities,” said Chief Elections Officer Church. “This time we are leading the way by improving voting accessibility for disabled and visually impaired voters”.
Voters using this system will log in online and download their ballot to a computer, mark their choices and then print the ballot. The ballot may be returned to the Registration & Elections Division in the postage-paid Vote by Mail envelope provided to the voter. Voters may also mail their ballot using a standard envelope, however, voters must affix a stamp to return the ballot to the Registration & Elections Division.
To ensure security and comply with California law, at no time can any voter’s voting choices or marked ballot be transmitted over the internet. During ballot marking, the system does not allow data to be transmitted over the internet. Only a paper ballot will be produced, and a voter’s selections will not be stored.
Full Article: ‘Accessible Vote by Mail System’ Comes To San Mateo Co., Election Officials Say – San Carlos, CA Patch.