FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
Peri Jude Radecic
Wednesday, June 28, 2006 Director of Public Advocacy
(520) 327-9547, ext. 23
Arizona Center for Disability Law Endorses
Arizona Vote By Mail Initiative
Phoenix, Arizona…The Arizona Center for Disability
Law (Center) has joined a growing list of individual and organizational
endorsements of the proposed Vote by Mail ballot initiative in Arizona. If approved by voters in November, Vote by
Mail would ensure that all registered voters are automatically mailed ballots
from election officials before every election.
A limited number of county-wide polling places would remain open on
Election Day for on-site voting and for voters to return their mail-in ballots.
Below is a statement by Henry G.
Watkins, Executive Director of the Center, regarding the endorsement of the
Arizona Vote by Mail Initiative.
“Vote by Mail has been a huge
success in places like Oregon,
who went to Vote by Mail for all elections in 1999. Vote by Mail increases voter participation
among all people, including people with disabilities. Statistics from Vote by Mail in Oregon show that people
with disabilities increased their voter turnout by 48%. Vote by Mail is convenient. There is no waiting for hours in line to
vote. No confusion about where to go to
vote. No accessibility problems at
polling locations. Accessible voting
machines will still be available for individuals with disabilities who want to
vote privately and independently and for whom a mail-in ballot is not
accessible.”
Other organizations endorsing Vote
by Mail include: Arizona Education Association, Arizona Democratic Party,
Cochise Board of Supervisors, and the Yavapai Board of Supervisors.
A complete list of individual and
organizational endorsements for Arizona’s
Vote by Mail initiative can be found at www.vbmaz.com.