Dave,
I don't think you are correct.
The ballot does not have to be notarized, the application to obtain a ballot
by mail does.
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Plumlee (Redacted sender "knobman" for DMARC)"
<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 3:45 PM
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Voting by mail-in.
Hello, Petra,
In two states about which I know, the ballot has to be notarized in order
to
be valid. One would have to present some kind of valid identification to
the notary before that person would notarize the ballot; I imagine a
notary
would be very careful on this point because he/she could get into big
trouble for being slipshod in requiring proof of identity. I won't say
that
it is impossible for a person to get a fake ID for a deceased person or
perhaps steal that person's ID card after death; but it would take a bit
of
effort to do that, and I think that most people wouldn't bother.
When Debbie voted absentee ballot because she was in college, she was told
to get her ballot marked but don't sign it until she came into the
presence
of the lady at the college who was a Notary Public. That lady notarized
Debbie's ballot and the ballots of many other students based on identities
registered with the school.
Wile the Optacon is a big help in introducing students to printed
material,
we learned in Oklahoma Schooll for the Blind the difference between
"sense"
and "since" with that knowledge coming to us from braille and teacher
input
when we didn't have Optacons at OSB. We learned that "Sense" referred to
a
sense of smell, a sense of touch, etc.; while "Since" is a word used to
introduce a condition, suh as "Since you have paid that bill, I'll take it
off your record." Blind people who have a problem with those two words
probably have, in my opinion, a more serious problem: They are apparently
relying mainly on audio methods of learning with very little contact with
words on a page in any format. I read about a similar case in which a
girl
in the third or fourth grade told her teacher one morning that she had
learned the color of the wind. Of course, the teacher was curious and
asked
the girl what color it is, and she replied "blew (wrong spelling by me on
purpose)." The teacher went on to ask how she learned that. The girl,
who
was using only audio recordings (talking books and recorded books),
replied
something like this, "I read yesterday in a book that the sky is gray and
the wind blew." We know that "blew" was the real word indicating simply
that the wind blew out there with no reference to color; but the girl knew
nothing about homonyms (words that sound alike but are completely
different
in meaning).
My point here is that any educational method which focuses almost
exclusively on learning by ear is extremely deficient in teaching of the
English language. It seems to me that blind kids, especially those who
are
totally blind, must by hook or by crook be given contact with words in
their
normal context on a page. In practical terms, I maintain that such
contact
must be by braille if the child is capable of learning braille; and I
maintain that teachers should "pull out all the stops" to get totally
blind
kids into braille with very few exceptions. Of course, I wish we could
introduce these children to the Optacon if they were mature enough to
learn
it and we had enough Optacons available for such instruction. I thank God
that I was put into braille when I began school in the first grade (we
didn't have kindergarten when I went to school). We began learning
braille
almost from Day One. The teacher passed out blocks with only one cell on
each with some pins which were fit into the holes on the block. She might
say, "Everybody make an M," and she would come around and touch each of
our
blocks to make sure that each of us had the letter 'm" showing on our
respective blocks. If one of us got it wrong, she had two or three
methods
to correct us. She might make the errant student tell her the dots of the
M, or she could just take out the pins and have that student try again.
We
soon moved from that little single cell to pegboards that had four lines
with about fifteen cells per line. Same principle, this time with simple
words. Her method laid a firm foundation for us to learn braille and
develop a basis for reading on through the grades of school.
-----Original Message-----
From: optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On
Behalf Of petra
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 1:44 PM
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Voting by mail-in.
Hello all,
I have always questioned both early voting and mail-in ballots. The reason
I
question early voting is that so much can change between when you mail
your
ballot and the actual voting day. You may want to change your vote but
can't.
The mail-in, because some states mail ballots to people who are no longer
alive but people get hold of the ballot and send it in. It seems like it
would be very hard to verify these votes.
I would rather vote in person but I haven't figured out how to use the
machines. Guess I better get busy.
I don't know what I would do without my Optacons. That's really a good way
to vote if you ask me.
I listen to a streaming radio station where the discussion has been about
blind people being confused about the words "sense" and "since". I think
reading with an Optacon would have corrected that mistake.
Petra
----- Original Message -----
From: <sonshines59@xxxxxxxxx>
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Monday, August 10, 2020 5:06 pm
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Voting by mail-in.
that some states handle it better than others, so he may be right, but in
Hi,
I asked this very question of a conservative talk show host, and found
out
our state, so far, all is pretty okay.
They have been in existence for several years, and I don't see much
Judy
-----Original Message-----
From: optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
On Behalf Of David Plumlee (Redacted sender "knobman" for DMARC)
Sent: Monday, August 10, 2020 3:32 PM
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Voting by mail-in.
I surely don't understand President Trump's hoopla about mail-in ballots.
greater
potential for fraud than there is in going to the poling place, since you
could probably manage to get a fake ID or two for voting and then go vote
under each ID. I don't think it should be a big deal.
promotes apathy and co-dependence, whether or not the individual is
-----Original Message-----
From: optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <optacon-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
On Behalf Of Judy Jones
Sent: Monday, 10 August, 2020 10:40 AM
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Voting by mail-in.
"Maureen, you nailed it! That's all I can say. A hearty amen to you!
Judy
sent from the HIMS Android BrailleSense Polaris
----- Original Message -----
From: Maureen Hogg
To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Monday, August 10, 2020 08:10 AM
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: Voting by mail-in.
That's the heart of the matter, Judy: A "dumbed down" culture that
disabled. The Optacon was created by The GreatestGeneration as a part of
its
ethic to make the world a better place to live and to allow individuals to
reach their full potential. The "disabled" community was simply a subset
of
that mindset. Once the culture gets back on track with that ethic, the
"disabled" community will also get back on it.
blind p erson could read independently. That's the general apthy. "Not my
You mentioned people weren't even curious about it or didn't even care a
problem." Actually, it is everyone's problem. We're all in this together,
as
the present recession and pandemic demonstrate, vividly.
not. Change the attitude and the motivation, you change the world.
The technology is out there. The funding is out there. The attitude is
quotes) in the message subject.
Best!
Maureen
On 8/10/2020 5:07 AM, Judy Jones wrote:
Hi, All,of
I was able to do this with the aid of the optacon.
This was brought home to me, as I was on a state board call
involving severalblind people.
An article one had written is going to appear on a list-serv. At the
end
the reading of this article, I spoke up and explained my successfulquotes) in the message subject.
experience, being able to vote by mail. While I didn't expect any
comments one way or the other, I also realized that very few, if
any, probably, not o nly knew what an optacon is, but also, more
than that, noone was even curious, or even questioning the fact that
it is even possible for a blind person to do this independently.
The moral of the story being that, if developong of a new model
optacon is tobe developed, the interest has to be piqued among the
blind community before the marketing can even begin.
The recipe has to include entities with money, influence, and
knowledge of the market they're going after. Blindness product compa
nies are "small potatoes" compared to someone like Google, who
produces Pixel devices and others that can be used by blind people.
The blind population is such a niche market, the technology has to
be such that it's affordable by all and people made to believe they
have to have one.
The culture is so dumbed down nowadays.
I'm going to add the mail-in vote capability to the Optacon Task List.
Judy
sent from the HIMS Android BrailleSense Polaris
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