Secretary Dunlap Launches Accessible Absentee Ballot Option for Maine Voters with Print Disabilities
October 05 2020 - 1:02PM
Business Wire
Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap is announcing the launch of a
new digital service that will provide an accessible absentee ballot
option for qualified voters with disabilities. The solution was
created in partnership with digital government firm NIC Maine.
The Accessible Absentee Ballot option became available Friday,
Oct. 2, as one of the options on the online absentee ballot request
page for the Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020 General Election.
The Department of the Secretary of State developed this new
service in coordination with Maine’s digital solutions partner, NIC
Maine, with guidance from advocates at Disability Rights Maine. It
is intended for voters with print disabilities, which may include
vision impairment or blindness, physical dexterity limitations,
learning disabilities or cognitive impairment, all of which prevent
the individual from independently marking a paper ballot.
“We have been encouraging people to consider absentee voting if
they are concerned about going to a polling place during this
pandemic,” said Secretary Dunlap, “and for voters with disabilities
who wanted to vote absentee, only the mailed paper ballot was
available – until now. This new service represents a significant
milestone in our administration of elections in Maine, making
independent absentee voting available to all Maine citizens.”
In addition to the accessible absentee ballot, the State
provides the Accessible Voting System ballot-marking device at
every polling place on election day, which allows any voter to use
a touchscreen or controller pad/audio to independently mark their
ballot.
“We are pleased that the Secretary of State’s Office has taken
steps to ensure that people with print disabilities will be able to
vote privately, independently and safely from their home for the
November 3 general election,” said Kristin Aiello, lead counsel for
Disability Rights Maine.
About NIC Maine
NIC Maine, a division of NIC Inc., manages Maine.gov through the
InforME network manager contract. NIC Maine provides more than 175
digital government solutions, including online absentee ballot
request, for citizens and businesses that allow for the completion
of more than 2,500 different government transactions.
About NIC
NIC (Nasdaq: EGOV) is a leading digital government solutions and
payments company, serving more than 7,000 federal, state and local
government agencies across the nation. With headquarters in Olathe,
Kansas, and offices in more than 30 states, NIC partners with
government to deliver user-friendly digital services that make it
easier and more efficient to interact with government – providing
valuable conveniences like applying for unemployment insurance,
submitting business filings, renewing licenses, accessing
information and making secure payments without visiting a
government office. In the COVID-19 era and beyond, NIC helps
government agencies rapidly deliver new digital solutions to
provide essential services to citizens and businesses alike. Having
served the public sector for nearly 30 years, NIC continues to
evolve with its federal, state and local government partners to
deliver innovative and cost-effective digital government to
constituents. Learn more at www.egov.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201005005802/en/
Kara Cowie | NIC Inc. Director of Corporate Communications
816-813-2350 | kara.cowie@egov.com
Dan Andrews | NIC Maine General Manager 207-621-2600 |
dandrews@informe.org
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