Voting is an essential right of American citizenship that people with disabilities are too often prevented from exercising. Current voting barriers include transportation to polling sites, inaccessible buildings, cumbersome registration processes, lack of election worker training on the accessibility features of voting machines, and lack of voter privacy.
RespectAbility Senior Policy Advisor Matan Koch, who is a wheelchair user, uses mail-in voting since his transportation options are limited and polling places are often inaccessible. Senior Director of Policy Stacy Cervenka, who is blind, uses in-person voting with an accessible voting machine due to privacy concerns with needing someone to read and fill out print mail-in ballots. RespectAbility Faith and Inclusion Fellow Hannah Roussell, who is immune-compromised and has ADHD, votes via absentee ballot and wishes the registration process was streamlined.
According to Koch, mail-in ballots address transportation and building inaccessibility issues for wheelchair users. This option also helps people like Rousell who are immune-compromised stay safe while voting.
However, Koch said that full accessibility of all voting locations is necessary regardless of remote voting options. “The primary solution I would recommend is universal accessibility,” Koch said. “No place should be allowed to be a polling site if it isn’t physically accessible.”
Cervenka is grateful for the presence of accessible voting machines at all polling places, as mail-in ballots are currently inaccessible to blind and low-vision voters. “Before accessible voting machines were widely used, when blind people went to vote, we often had to ask for assistance from the poll workers in reading and marking our ballots,” said Cervenka. “Most states required that, if a voter asked for assistance marking their ballot, a poll worker from each political party had to be present in order to ensure that the ballot was marked according to the voter’s wishes. In Minnesota, we often had up to seven political parties represented. So, there was one election where I was in the voting booth with seven other people.”
RespectAbility is proud to serve on both the steering committee and legislative committee of the National Coalition for Accessible Voting, a coalition of disability organizations that are committed to ensuring that voting is accessible for all.
Absentee ballots can be requested as an accommodation via NASS.org.
