Ana and all:
Currently, I use a signature stamp, based on some signatures I made back in 1984 on all of my ballots as well as other forms I have to sign. Since 2010, I've had to get that signature notarized every three years as part of my reapplication to the Governor's Council on Blindness and Visual Impairment (GCBVI) in my home state of Arizona.
To date, I have had no issues using the stamp; and, since, the people overseeing your voting are more concerned about exactly matching signatures every time (good luck with that, even among sighted folks), it might be a wise thing to seek out getting a signature stamp for this purpose, at least in the short term.
--
Ted Chittenden
Every story has at least two sides, if not more.
-----Original Message-----
From: Visually Impaired Computer Users' Group List <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Ana G
Sent: Monday, October 26, 2020 5:57 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [VICUG-L] OT -- Mail-In Voting and Blind Signatures
Hi All,
Apologies if you receive this more than once.
I'm posting this because I suspect others here will encounter the same issue.
In this year's presidential election, I voted by mail. I did it the same
way I've done it since the mid nineties. My mom read me the ballot and
filled out my choices. She showed me where to sign. Then a day or two
later, she slipped the ballot into an official dropbox while she was
running errands. I've never had a problem ... until now.
With the extra vigilance brought on by the current political climate,
someone at the elections office noticed the signature on my ballot
doesn't match the signature on my voter registration form, so last week,
I received a letter that gave me several options. They all amounted to
my providing a new signature. I didn't think that would help. Since I'm
unable to actually see what I'm writing, I felt pretty certain the third
signature wouldn't match the other two.
I decided to go to the elections office with my letter. The person who
waited on me was very nice. I had to explain three or four times before
she understood that my signature is never the same, but once she did,
she told me to have a seat while she spoke to her supervisor. Here's
what they came up with:
1. I signed the letter, and she witnessed the signature.
And
2. I need to send in a new voter registration form with my signature.
The point of doing both of these things is to put several versions of my
signature on file so that anyone checking in future can have an idea of
what makes sense for my writing.
I suspect that there will be a lot of variation in how the mismatched
signatures of blind people is handled. I'm getting the word out to the
community to lessen the unpleasant surprise and to give people a sense
of what to do. I'm also curious to know what experiences others have had.
Ciao
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