“Individuals with disabilities have a right to full participation in voting, including absentee voting,” stated Eric Bridges, Executive Director of the American Council of the Blind. “Persons with disabilities have fought for decades for their right to vote privately and independently. Now, especially in light of COVID-19, such persons are fighting for their right to vote via absentee ballot.”

June 3, 2020 – New York, NY – A federal court has approved an agreement between the NYS Board of Elections (NYS BOE) and disability groups that provides voters a more accessible absentee ballot for the upcoming June 23 Primary Election. Following a lawsuit filed on May 22 by a disability rights coalition, the NYSBOE has agreed to email accessible absentee ballots to qualified voters with disabilities. Voters can access an Accessible Absentee Ballot Request Form on the NYS BOE website to request an accessible electronically-delivered absentee ballot.

By Cindy Hollis Van Winkle, Membership Services Coordinator, American Council of the Blind

The American Council of the Blind believes that every human deserves dignity and respect. During these times when our voices seem sequestered by the weight of social distance, we loudly affirm our core values, echoing the collective voice of like-minded organizations who labor daily to dismantle the structural barriers that stand in the way of equal opportunity and full inclusion in our society.

The American Council of the Blind is proud to partner with Aira to make visual interpreting services available to more people. To encourage ACB members to try their service, Aira is extending special ACB Membership pricing from June 1 through December 31, 2020.

Aira Plans for ACB Members:

ACB Member Intro Plan

Minutes: 30 per month
Price: $20.00 per month
Plan Share: no additional users 

ACB Member Enhanced Plan

Minutes: 140 per month
Price: $99.99 per month 
Plan Share: up to two additional users 

For Immediate Release 

Lawsuit Filed May 22, 2020 in Federal Court – Full Complaint 

Congratulations to the 2020 ACB/JPMorgan Chase Leadership Fellows award winners!

On May 8, 2020, the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) joined forces with eight other national organizations to pen a letter to the Chairs and the Ranking Members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pension and the House Committee on Education and Labor. The letter is a request to Congress to continue supporting children who are blind or have low vision by opposing waivers that would affect the services that children receive and by providing additional funding to support students’ access to their education.

The Durward K. McDaniel Fund Committee (DKM) annually selects two rising leaders, one from east and one from west of the Mississippi River, to attend the national conference and convention for the first time as guests of the committee and ACB.

During the ACB & OrCam webinar on April 30th, we announced a special offer on OrCam products for ACB members. OrCam continues to develop its technology for the blind and visually impaired community. Recently, OrCam shared with us some great news - it has released the OrCam MyEye2 Pro and the OrCam Read.