Jeff Thompson:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Into Adulthood\u2014voting rights for youth with disabilities, a project for youth with disabilities from the Disabilities Law Center. You can find out more about the Into Adulthood Project on the web at mylegalaid.org and by email at intoadulthood@mylegalaid.org, or give them a call at 1-800-292-4150.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate Clark:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I really encourage you guys, if you can get out and vote through your polling place, you should go do it. Even though you have to wear a mask, you should do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justin Page:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We provide free legal services for people with disabilities in a number of different areas including voting and the client assistance program that helps people with disabilities including youth access the Minnesota Vocational Rehabilitation system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voting, accessible voting, and your rights to accessible voting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki Wunderlich:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It doesn\u2019t matter whether you have a disability or not, you should always vote. It\u2019s not that hard, it\u2019s actually pretty easy if you do it with the accessible machine, and there\u2019s no worries about did my vote get put down or did somebody else\u2019s vote get put down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Nate and Nikki, two young adults, are here to tell us about their voting experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first experience I had was absentee ballot voting, because of COVID-19. It was kind of a challenge for me, because I couldn\u2019t understand who I was voting for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Voting experiences, whether it be with absentee balloting or accessible balloting at the booth\u2014either way, exercising your right to vote independently is important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think being able to vote independently is extremely important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You live in the country, in your own country and you\u2019ve [unintelligible], and if you\u2019re not going to vote you shouldn\u2019t be complaining. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We also have Justin and Cindy, from the Disability Law Center, providing free legal services for people with disabilities, and through the client assistance program providing assistance for youth to access the Minnesota Vocational Rehab system. Voting as a system is very important, and having access to voting is just as important. So let\u2019s start it out with Justin and Cindy, from the Disability Law Center\u2014we hope you enjoy. Welcome to Blind Abilities, I\u2019m Jeff Thompson. Today in the studio we have Justin and Cindy from the Disability Law Center, and we\u2019re going to be talking about voting. It\u2019s a little bit different this year, but a lot of it\u2019s the same, it\u2019s always been there, you might want to pay attention because things have changed a little bit. How\u2019re you doing, Justin?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m doing great. How are you, Jeff?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m doing good. Cindy, how about you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cindy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m doing fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s good. Well, thank you both. Why don\u2019t you give an introduction, who you are and what you do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, I\u2019m Justin Page, I\u2019m an assistant supervising attorney at the Minnesota Disability Law Center, which is part of MN Minnesota Legal Aid. I supervise our voting rights and our voting rights team, and I also supervise our outreach effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh, great. And Cindy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cindy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I work for the DLC, I\u2019ve been there over 20 years, I work primarily in special education and the secondary area that I work in is voting rights. The conduit is that we work with a lot of students between the ages of 18 and 21 in the school systems, and they are also people that are eligible to vote, and so we\u2019ve worked really hard to get folks\u2014young people with disabilities to understand their rights around voting, so that they can get out and vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think one of the biggest things you guys do is really enhance people\u2019s perspective on what rights they are entitled to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, so we\u2019re also\u2014the Disability Law Center is the statewide protection and advocacy for people with disabilities. Every state has a protection and advocacy for people with disabilities, and in Minnesota, the Disability Law Center is it. So we provide free legal services for people with disabilities in a number of different areas including voting and the client assistance program that helps people with disabilities including youth access the Minnesota Vocational Rehabilitation system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How can people get a hold of the client assistance program as\u2014we know it as CAP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, you can call our number\u2014we have a 1-800 number and a local number. Our local number is 612-334-5970, and the 1-800 number is 1-800-292-4150, and our website is mylegalaid.org.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh, good enough, good enough. We\u2019ll put those links in the show notes too so people can click on them, read them, check them out. So, voting\u2014we\u2019ve got a general election coming up this year, big time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, the general election is coming up on November 3rd. We do have absentee voting in Minnesota\u2014you can either vote absentee through the mail or in person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh, great. Well, first of all, Cindy, you mentioned you\u2019re dealing with 18 year olds, that\u2019s when they become eligible to vote, but they do have to register to vote first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cindy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, and so there are a number of ways that we can get that done. Over the last number of years with our advocacy throughout the state at the high school level and in what we call transition programs, a lot of the young people can actually register\u2014or anyone, for that matter, can register online, the secretary of state\u2019s website, and that\u2019s a fairly simple way to register, and we have sometimes a lot of the educators working with that 18 to 21 year old population who will help them make certain that they get those documents filled out correctly and submitted correctly. Sometimes we can tell the young people that they can register, that they can go into their town halls, city hall, usually there you can register, I believe you can also register if you\u2019re getting a driver\u2019s license or a Minnesota ID, and I think that the state\u2019s been a little more available to let people know that that can happen at that time, so there are a number of ways to do it, and part of this is to make certain that people who are 18 understand that they do have the right to vote and that they have to be registered, and again we also can register on election day, so if you\u2019re not registered but you\u2019d want to vote you could register in person that day at a polling place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And you have to show that you actually live somewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cindy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, if you\u2019re going to register on voting day, you would in fact have to have some type of identification that states your age and where you reside. If, for example, for some reason you didn\u2019t have something, like say for example\u2014when I talk to young people I usually ask how many of them have cell phones and how many of them pay their own bill, because if they didn\u2019t have, for example, a state ID or a driver\u2019s license they could use a bill, and that\u2019s kind of a common thing that a lot of young people have. If they don\u2019t have something like that, let\u2019s say they\u2019re living in a home with their parents, the parent could go and what we call vouch for them, which basically says \u201cYes, I know who this person is, yes, I know that they\u2019re 18, yes, I know that they live at whatever the address is.\u201d And so, in truth, in Minnesota we make it fairly simple for people to get registered and to vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, that\u2019s great. Yeah, I remember the day when you would bring your electric bill or something like that just to have another residency, because when I was younger I was moving around, and you\u2019d switch to different districts, different voting areas, so you do have to look up in your area, with your zip code, I believe, and your address, and it\u2019ll tell you where you can go vote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cindy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Correct, and the secretary of state\u2019s website is pretty user-friendly, and that would be where you would go to find out exactly where your polling place would be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year, due to COVID-19, the pandemic that\u2019s going around, things might be a little bit different, because the state\u2019s not going to have all of the polling places that they had before, and that\u2019s an effort to get people to vote absentee, just so we don\u2019t have as many people in the polling places there might not be as many polling places for individuals to go to, so it\u2019s very important to look up beforehand what your polling place is, because if you\u2019re used to voting at the rec center down the street, that might have changed. I\u2019d encourage everyone to check the secretary of state\u2019s website before they go vote to make sure that they\u2019re going to vote in the right place if they\u2019re going to go vote on the actual election day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cindy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, I think we\u2019ve had a lot of polling places in some of the larger assisted living and nursing homes, they\u2019ve actually had polling places within these facilities, and some of those probably will be nonexistent this year because, again, of COVID They\u2019re just not probably going to have them, or as many of them, with the situation as fluid as it\u2019s been with this COVID-19 situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, I can just imagine with the long lines that people would be backed up for quite a while trying to keep their distance, and for someone that\u2019s visually impaired that\u2019s a little more of an obstacle sometimes, to know how far you are away, and then I suppose they\u2019re going to have some plexiglass for people behind the table, or a table distanced away from you. It\u2019s going to be something new, something new for everyone, and I\u2019m glad you guys are pushing that people should be mailing in their votes this year, absentee voting. Now, when you ask to have them send you a ballot, it\u2019ll come in paper format\u2014is it going to be any more accessible than that, or will you have to have\u2014probably have someone assist you, go through it, maybe?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, you know, there was a bill that we supported in the legislature this past year to make absentee balloting accessible. Unfortunately that bill didn\u2019t go anywhere\u2014I know there are efforts that are continuing to try to make the ballot accessible but Minnesota unfortunately isn\u2019t quite there yet, hopefully we soon will be. So if you do need assistance, and you don\u2019t want to go to the polls, you will probably need to find someone to help you fill out that absentee ballot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So there is no place in Minnesota where you can just go online and cast your vote?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No, not yet. The Disability Law Center is working on that issue, you know, we\u2019re disappointed that nothing has been done to make the absentee ballot accessible, but hopefully it will be soon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s great. I hope it does come in, because I understand the security, and that\u2019s fake balloting or whatever they\u2019re going to call it, but absentee voting has been around for a long, long time, and I think more and more people are just casting their attention to it now because of the situation we\u2019re in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yep, absolutely, that\u2019s correct. Absentee balloting has been around for a long, long time\u2014it used to be that you needed an excuse to be able to vote absentee. A few years ago the Minnesota legislature got rid of that provision, and now we have no-excuse absentee voting, which means anybody for any reason can vote absentee, and I have heard from the secretary of state\u2019s office recently that a lot of people are voting absentee because they don\u2019t want to go to the polls due to COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cindy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And just know that if you are going to vote absentee for the election in November, you can actually request that ballot by mid to late September, so you have plenty of time. It\u2019s not like you\u2019re given a few-day window, you have 46 days to get that, and then fill it out and get that sent back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Great. It may seem like we\u2019ve got a lot of time right now, but the clock is ticking. I highly suggest if you\u2019re going to cast an absentee ballot to request it from the secretary of state office, get the process started, and ensure that your vote is going to be counted. Speaking about accessibility, the auto-mark, which is a device devised for the blind and visually impaired or people with trouble reading the printed word, allows them to vote independently and privately, and by putting on headphones the ballot is read to the voter. There\u2019s a full set of instructions for first time voters and for you to review, and when you\u2019re done casting your votes, the auto-mark device ejects your ballot, and then you proceed to take your ballot and put it into the same box that all the other voters put their ballots into. Now with the pandemic, the COVID-19, I hope that we\u2019re all learning from this, that agencies are taking note of the inaccessible ways that are present today, and that we improve upon these to be more inclusive, and make voting, casting a ballot, more accessible to everyone. And with absentee balloting, and of course, you can still go in and vote in person, wear a mask and all of the safeguards that are involved there, no matter what your disability is, you\u2019re still able to cast your vote today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, people will still be able to go vote on election day, and if they need assistance on election day all those same accommodations will be allowed, and the auto-mark will be there, if they need curbside voting, they need assistance they can bring someone to help them, or election judges can help them, so all that will still be there, but if an individual does have concerns with regard to COVID-19, we just suggest that they vote absentee like a lot of people are doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s great. Well, Justin and Cindy, is there anything else you want to add to the conversation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The only other thing that I\u2019ll add is\u2014we always get questions about this, is just people under guardianship. We always get the question, can people under guardianship vote? And the answer to that is simply yes, people under guardianship in Minnesota are able to vote, it\u2019s only when an individual\u2019s guardianship papers, a judge finds that they cannot vote, that they\u2019re not allowed to vote. So, if there\u2019s a question\u2014if you\u2019re under guardianship, or your guardian has a question regarding voting, the simple thing to do would be to look at your guardianship papers, and if they don\u2019t say anything about voting, that means you\u2019re able to vote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There you go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cindy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yep, and the other part is a lot of people with disabilities, and we have seen this, going out and doing the trainings that we do, I\u2019ve run into an awful lot of people who even are in their 40s and 50s and if you ask them if they\u2019ve ever voted, if they\u2019re registered, a lot of these people haven\u2019t voted and they\u2019re not registered, and for some reason have felt that they are not entitled to vote. Because you have a disability, that doesn\u2019t negate your right to vote, and a lot of folks I think sometimes automatically assume that if you have a disability and especially if you have a disability and you are under guardianship that you\u2019re not entitled to vote. And so to make certain that people with disabilities understand that they too have the right and that it\u2019s important that their voices are heard, and one of the things that I have realized over the years doing the training with the youth, a lot of the youth have a lot to say, and a lot of what they say makes sense, and so these are folks that are going to be the people of the future, and they need to be voting and their voices need to be heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Absolutely. I\u2019m glad you guys are doing this, and getting the word out there, coming onto the podcast and we\u2019re going to get this out to all the listeners so they too can further understand it. Check the links, check the show notes, and give them a call if you have any questions,, it\u2019ll just take a brief time to probably find out the answer that\u2019ll get your vote counted. And in just a minute we\u2019ll be talking to two young adults who have experienced voting accessibly, whether in person or through absentee balloting. So thank you Justin, thank you Cindy, for coming onto Blind Abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cindy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, thank you, Jeff, thank you for having us. Go vote!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alright. So now, we\u2019re going to be talking to Nikki Wunderlich \u2014 NIkki, thanks for coming onto Blind Abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019re very welcome!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So Nikki, let\u2019s talk about accessible voting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How was your experience?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One time I used the accessible polling, and another time I had someone read the ballot to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ah. What was accessible polling?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They had a machine that you could use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Like the auto-mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
That\u2019s where you get your ballot, you slide it in, and then you put on the headphones-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-and it talks to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How did you like that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I liked it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I actually voted yesterday, and it worked just perfectly fine for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s awesome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, explain to the listeners\u2014explain how that accessible auto-mark works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:
Well, it was quite a few years ago when I used it. You basically go through the ballot, each question, and choose who you want to vote for, and it marks your answers for you, by you hitting a certain key, yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And there\u2019s instructions as you start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:
Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And you can turn up the volume, goes through each button, there\u2019s braille labels on the panel itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mm-hm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, like I would just hit a center cursor button, the square one, and that would select the person that I wanted, and it was pretty clear and pretty simple to just toggle down through the list of candidates, then select it. What I really liked is it let you review at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, that\u2019s right!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then you just take it out and then you just go down and it seems like all the people at the place were friendly and they just slide it into the box, I guess you call it, and you\u2019re done!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What was it like when you had to have someone else do your ballot for you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, I didn\u2019t like that as much, because I didn\u2019t know if they were putting down what I actually wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mm. You just don\u2019t know, do you? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, we just had the primary, there was only a couple of people on the ballot, it was kind of easy to do, but it feels good. How do you feel about voting?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think it\u2019s very important to vote, and I think everybody who\u2019s old enough should vote, whether they have a disability or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
And how do you feel about being able to vote independently?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:
I think being able to vote independently is extremely important. For one, your answers are being marked down, not somebody else\u2019s answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, how many times have you been able to vote?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:
I\u2019ve only been able to vote a couple times, because at first I wasn\u2019t interested in voting, and then when I got interested in voting I moved quite a few times in a short amount of time and it just made it hard to keep up on registering addresses and all that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Yeah. So what\u2019s that like, when you go to the polling place and you have to provide identification or some form of address to the judges?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:
That\u2019s actually how I did it the first time. I didn\u2019t know where or how to register-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mm-hm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-and I was with my dad, and he\u2019s like \u201cWe\u2019ll just take proof of who you are and proof of where you live and all that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that was easy enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:
Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What would you suggest to someone who has a disability or is visually impaired about voting?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I would say you should still vote. It\u2019s not that hard, especially if you do it with the accessible machine, it\u2019s actually pretty easy if you do it with the machine, and there\u2019s no worries about did my vote get put down or did somebody else\u2019s vote get put down with the machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s great. Alright, do you think there\u2019s anything else that you would like to tell people about voting?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just stay up on it the best you can, and it doesn\u2019t matter whether you have a disability or not, you should always vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
That\u2019s a good message. Alright, Nikki Wunderlich, thank you so much!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nikki:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bye-bye, Nikki. And also with us, in the studio, we have Nate Clark. Nate, welcome to Blind Abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thank you! I\u2019m excited to share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
That\u2019s great. It\u2019s voting time, and I just went to the poll, and I just used the auto-mark, which is a form of accessible voting, and you have some experiences with accessible voting yourself. Why don\u2019t you tell us about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s correct. So, I\u2019m hard of hearing, and I use a device when I go in the polls where you put your ballot in and then you listen and you tap on the screen for the person you want to vote, and then your ballot is marked, so I use that. And I\u2019ve been voting ever since I was 18 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What are other experiences you\u2019ve had with voting?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first experience I had was the absentee ballot voting, because of COVID-19 was in place, and the primary election for the US state senator, primary election, was kind of a challenge for me, because I couldn\u2019t understand who I was voting for, and it was hard for me to read it, and then I put the ballot in the mail, and then I realized that, oh no, I voted the wrong party. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that was a printed version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was a printed version, yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How do you typically access a main-in voting ballot?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was my very first time doing it by mail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
What was the process that you went through to receive your ballot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mail voting?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:
I had to go to the secretary of state website, and request an application form, and then I had to wait to get the application form, fill that all out, send that back in, and then I received an absentee ballot in the mail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then I had to fill that all out, and put it in a secure envelope, and then another envelope, and then another envelope, to get it sent out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Really? Sounds like a lot of trees were killed to make that work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:
Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Was the website on the secretary of state accessible for you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes\u2014I\u2019m good at working with laptops, and my smartphone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mm-hm. What is the most trouble that you have or see for people who have difficulty hearing in the state of Minnesota to cast their ballot?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think the hardest thing for people that are hard of hearing is not understanding who to vote for, and it will be hard for them to do it on their own without somebody to read it to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because you\u2019re also visually impaired, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, I wear glasses to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ah. So what advice do you have for someone who has low vision and is hard of hearing for voting in Minnesota?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:
I would reach out to somebody and ask for help, if somebody could read it for me, if I can\u2019t get to the polls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mm-hm. What advice would you give to someone who\u2019s just turned 18 and is considering voting, but doesn\u2019t know if it\u2019s that important?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, if you have access to a voting place, I would suggest you go there, and then use one of their hearing devices that has large print, also, for people that can\u2019t see small print-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Mm-hm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-and also can listen back and forth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Ah. Why do you think it\u2019s important for people to vote?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because you live in the country, in your own country, and you\u2019ve [unintelligible], and if you\u2019re not going to vote, you shouldn\u2019t be complaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
That\u2019s a good point right there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:
I really encourage you guys if you can get out and vote through your polling place, you should go do it. Even though you have to wear a mask, you should do it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Thank you, Nate, thank you so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can find out more about the Into Adulthood Project on the web at mylegalaid.org and by email at intoadulthood@mylegalaid.org, or give them a call at 1-800-292-4150. Be sure to contact your state services for the blind, your Voc Rehab, and find out what they can do for you. Live, work, read, succeed. A big shout out to Chee Chau for his beautiful music, you can follow Chee Chau on Twitter @lcheechau. And for more podcasts with a blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.blindabilities.com, on Twitter @BlindAbilities, and give us a call at 612-367-6093, leave us a message and let us know if we can put your voice on the next podcast. Drop us an email at info@blindabilities.com, and download the free Blind Abilities app from the app store and Google Play store. That\u2019s two words, Blind Abilities. And for all of us here at Blind Abilities, through these challenging times, to you, your family, and friends, stay well, stay informed, and stay strong. I want to thank you for listening, hope you enjoyed, and until next time, bye-bye. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
[Music] [Transition noise] -When we share<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-What we see<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Through each other’s eyes\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For more podcasts with the blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.blindabilities.com, on Twitter @BlindAbilities. Download our app from the app store Blind Abilities, that’s two words, or send us an email at info@blindabilities.com. Thanks for listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email<\/a> or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check out the Blind Abilities Community<\/a>on Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page<\/a>, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired<\/a> group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Full Transcript Jeff Thompson: Into Adulthood\u2014voting rights for youth with disabilities, a project for youth with disabilities from the Disabilities Law Center. You can find out more about the Into Adulthood Project on the web at mylegalaid.org and by email at intoadulthood@mylegalaid.org, or give them a call at 1-800-292-4150. Nate Clark: I really encourage you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6253","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P6rcRg-1CR","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4533,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=4533","url_meta":{"origin":6253,"position":0},"title":"Discrimination and Disability Rights: Knowing Your Rights and Receiving the Advocacy That Just May Right the Way For Your Success – Meet Heather Gilbert","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"February 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Heather Gilbert:There is a shortage of attorneys representing people with disabilities. Jeff Thompson:Introducing disability rights lawyer, Heather Gilbert. Heather Gilbert:When someone is discriminated against, when they're treated differently than other people, that is very hurtful. Jeff Thompson:Advocate for the United Blind of Minnesota. Heather Gilbert:Because there's that awkward\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4965,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=4965","url_meta":{"origin":6253,"position":1},"title":"Career Expo: Assisting People with Disabilities for 22 Years to Find and Keep Employment \u2013 Meet Employment Specialist Walter Waranka","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"May 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Jeff Thompson:Welcome to Blind Abilities. I'm Jeff Thompson. Speaker 2: Okay. So, State Services actually played a huge part in everything that I'm doing. Speaker 3: Don't be afraid. Get out there, meet people, be friendly. Nobody is judging you. Speaker 4: Think big. Look at what do\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Image of man with cane and woman with service dog and City Skyline with Job Insights in bold letters.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6369,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6369","url_meta":{"origin":6253,"position":2},"title":"Ana Sikhashvili Shines a Light on her Student Exchange Experience in the U.S. and Attending Minnesota Academy for the Blind and How She is Bringing it All Back Home to the Republic of Georgia","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"December 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Jeff: Welcome to Blind Abilities, I\u2019m Jeff Thompson. Today in the studio, we have Anna Sikhashvili, and she is a student from the Republic of Georgia. She came to the United States through an exchange program called FLEX \u2013 Future Leaders Exchange. Anna: Students go to the United\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6339,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6339","url_meta":{"origin":6253,"position":3},"title":"Tech Has the Power to Change Lives, Especially People with Disabilities \u2013 Meet Kiran Kaja: Google’s Accessibility Lead for Search, Assistant and News","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"November 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Kiran: I lead the accessibility program for search, assistant and news products at Google. With my team\u2019s help, we make sure that people with disabilities are able to use these products effectively. Jeff: Please welcome Google\u2019s accessibility lead, Kiran Kaja. Kiran: I\u2019m originally from India. They did not\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6580,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6580","url_meta":{"origin":6253,"position":4},"title":"How a Journey Through Vision Loss Prepared Laura Allen to Become Head of Strategy for Accessibility and Disability Inclusion at Google","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"March 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcription Laura Allen: -where now I spend really all of my time on sort of cross-organizational strategy and working on helping to bring alignment and understanding across the different teams working on accessibility, and on disability inclusion. Jeff Thompson: Please welcome Laura Allen. Laura: I happen to be low\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8734,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=8734","url_meta":{"origin":6253,"position":5},"title":"Wellness Wednesday:\u00a0Belonging: The Power of Choice in Accessibility","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Podcast Summary: Wellness Wednesday:\u00a0Belonging: The Power of Choice in Accessibility In this episode of Wellness Wednesday, Beth Gustin and Robin Ennis, joined by Jeff Thompson, explore the evolving landscape of accessibility through the lens of an upcoming all-inclusive hotel designed specifically with people with disabilities in mind. Inspired by entrepreneur\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6253"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6254,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6253\/revisions\/6254"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Contact:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities<\/a>
On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com<\/a>
Send us an email<\/a>
Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Store<\/a>and Google Play Store<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n