Voter Access Summit in Eugene Oregon Sept. 26th from 9:30 - 3:30

[phoebe]

The Rubicon Society of Lane County will hold an open discussion forum at its meeting Thursday.

The meeting will be at noon at the Pearl Street Ice Cream Parlour, 1313 Pearl St. Lunch is optional.

For more information, call 431-7359.

Public's help sought

in refining voting process

The public can test the latest election technology and help state officials refine a plan to improve the voting process for Oregonians with disabilities during the Voter Access Summit on Friday at the John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts, 285 E. Broadway in Eugene.

The event runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and features numerous speakers and demonstrations aimed at improving Oregon's election system under a $14 million grant from the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002.

The grant will help establish a centralized state voter registration database, buy new voting machines for vision-impaired voters, improve the vote-by-mail ballots to work for people with impaired dexterity and provide training for elections officials to recognize and react to a wide range of issues that prevent people from voting, said Sarah Ross-Viles, spokeswoman for the Lane Independent Living Alliance, a sponsor of the event.

The summit is free and open to the public.

Lunch will be noon to 1 p.m. and will include keynote speaker Jim Dickson, vice president for governmental affairs at the American Association of People with Disabilities. Cost is $6.

A fund-raising dance will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets cost $4 in advance, $5 to $7 on a sliding scale at the door, or $10 per family.

To register or for more information, contact LILA at 607-7020 or e-mail LILA at [e-mail].

Send announcements to: Briefly News at The Register-Guard, P.O. Box 10188, Eugene, OR 97440; fax [phone] or e-mail [e-mail].

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2003/09/24/d2.cr.rg.briefs.0924.html