 American Association of People with Disabilities
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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 30, 2008 |
Media contact: Rebecca Panoff Communications Manager AAPD Office: (202) 508-3783 E-mail: aapdrebecca (at) earthlink (dot) net |
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AAPD’s Jim Dickson Testifies in Support of Voting Reform Act
Dickson Tells Senate Rules Committee Act a "Service to Country"
WASHINGTON, DC — American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) Vice President of Governmental Affairs Jim Dickson on Wednesday testified in front of the Senate Rules Committee in support of S.3212 the Bipartisan Electronic Voting Reform Act of 2008 (BEVRA).
Dickson, who has more than 24 years of experience with non-partisan voter registration and education issues and serves on the Board of Advisors to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, told Rules Committee members the Act, “levels the playing field for tens of millions of Americans” by guaranteeing the right to vote privately and independently.
The bill requires electronic voting systems used in federal elections to produce an independent voter-verified record of each ballot cast.
Dickson told the Rules Committee the bill enables more than 10 million Americans who are blind or visually impaired to vote a secret ballot, allows more than 23 million Americans with learning disabilities to vote because it allows them to both hear and see the ballot and enables those with hand and arm limitations to vote privately and independently.
“On behalf of Americans with disabilities, I am thankful for the thoughtful, creative and innovative legislation you have drafted,” Dickson told the committee.
Dickson said another strong point of the legislation is that it begins to address the “all-important topic of ballot design.”
A text copy of Dickson’s testimony is available per request.
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The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the country's largest cross-disability membership organization, organizes the disability community to be a powerful voice for change – economically, politically, and socially. AAPD was founded in 1995 to help unite the diverse community of people with disabilities, including their family, friends and supporters, and to be a national voice for change in implementing the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To learn more, visit the AAPD website: www.aapd.com.