NYS Forum IT Accessibility Committee

Special Edition Newsletter - 2008

### Edited by Joel Obuchowski

Articles and ideas for future newsletters? Please e-mail them to Debi Orton dorton@goer.state.ny.us and Joel Obuchowski jobuchow@ins.state.ny.us

With all of the recent attention to the accessibility of the voting process for Americans with disabilities, we thought you might find this list of Election 2008 resources prepared by Cornell's Employment and Disability Institute Newsletter of use. Please share this information with anyone you think might benefit from it.

New Video on Voting Rights:

The Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York's consumers, with staff guidance, filmed an eight minute video about the rights and accessibility issues of voters with disabilities. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBhWYFq19zY&eurl=http://www.cidny.org/cidnyweb/index.jsp (External Link)

Presidential Candidates Reference Special Needs Population in Final Debate:

Children with disabilities, autism, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as well as the need for funding these issues, were all mentioned by both candidates during their final debate on October 15th held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY. To read more about this and to access a full transcript of the debate, go to: http://www.specialneedsanswers.com/resources/article.asp?id=5945&section=4 (External Link)

Are You Preparing a Polling Site for the November 4th Election Day?

If so, you will want to peruse these resources for making voting more accessible:

Information on what types of materials should be posted: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/misc/poster.12.23.03.html (External Link)

Accessible Polling Places Checklist: http://www.ada.gov/votingck.htm (External Link)

Additional information and resources from Disabilityinfo.gov: http://www.disabilityinfo.gov/digov-public/public/DisplayPage.do?parentFolderId=238 (External Link)

Where the Presidential Candidates Stand

This link is to a comparison chart provided by the Ohio Legal Rights Service (OLRS) that lists the candidates' positions on disability-related issues (Note that neither the OLRS nor the DBTAC endorses any political party or candidate): http://www.olrs.ohio.gov/prescompare.htm (External Link).