People with disabilities are 20% less likely to vote, sometimes because they are not able to access polls or are not aware of their right to a private, independent vote.
Politically active people with disabilities, including Disaboom's own KaraSwims, are bucking the trend by getting active and encouraging the disability community to vote through initiatives like Rock the Disabled Vote, Don't Block My Vote, and Project VIP. Here's what voters with disabilities need to know before they head to the polls tomorrow:
Your Rights
Disabled voters have rights under federal and state laws to accessible polling places and voting machines, to receive assistance from a person of their choice, to reasonable accommodations (including being moved up in line), and to not be turned away based on a poll worker's determination that the voter is incompetent.
The Help America Vote Act (HAVA), the Voting for Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act require that polling places must be physically accessible and have at least one voting machine that is accessible, including for blind and visually impaired voters to vote privately and independently.
Accomodations
Polling places are required by law to make certain accomodations for voters with disabilities, including the following (thanks to the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition for this information, used with permission):
Moving Up in Line/Curbside Voting
Many individuals with a variety of health impairments, who may not be seen or see themselves as "disabled," have ADA and other federal and state disability rights. Among those rights is the right to policy modifications. This may include being offered a chair indoors while others stand outdoors or being moved to the front of the line, depending on the needs of the disabled voter.
A voter's disability may make getting out of a car or van difficult. In this case curbside voting is required. Poll supervisors often see these requests as within their sole discretion as a courtesy. It is important for poll workers to know that these types of policy modifications are required if a disability interferes with the right to vote.
Assistance
If a voter has difficulty casting a ballot, the voter can bring someone to assist or may ask for assistance by a poll worker. The right to assistance includes, among other things, physical assistance with the mechanics of casting a vote, assistance in reading the ballot, having the ballot contents or instructions explained in simpler language, and having someone accompany the voter into a voting booth.
The only people who may not assist a voter are the voter's employer or an agent of the employer, or a union officer or agent of a union to which the person belongs.
If assistance is requested, the voter's choices and privacy must be paramount.
There may also be issues that arise about staff at nursing homes, group homes and other care facilities forbidding or not assisting voters to cast a ballot or get to the polls. Facility staff cannot bar residents from voting based on their own determination that a resident is not competent to vote. Under the ADA, staff must assist residents by either helping them get to the polls or picking up and submitting absentee ballots.
Competence
Some states do not have any competence requirement for voters. States that do require competence to vote can only take away the right to vote where a court has made the determination of incompetence to vote. This determination may not be made by a poll worker or election official.
These states usually require either specific court adjudication that the person lacks the competence to vote, or a court adjudication of mental incompetence generally. Even if a person's name appears on a list of people adjudicated unable to vote, a provisional ballot may be filed if the person does not agree with the designation.
A person may not lose the right to vote based on the fact that he or she lives in an institution. Missouri is the only exception to this rule; it takes away the right to vote from individuals who are involuntarily committed to a hospital. In this situation, a provisional ballot may also be cast.
Voter Challenges
Challenges must conform to state law requirements concerning who may bring a challenge, what grounds for challenging are permitted, and what evidence is required. In many states, a voter's competence is not a permitted basis for challenging the voter. A voter cannot be challenged on the ground that his or her guardian is not present.
Resources
For state laws regarding disability and voting, go to
www.ndrn.org.
See www.bazelon.org/issues/voting for state laws concerning competence challenges.
For the Project VIP hotline to assist visually impaired voters, call 1-877-NFB-1940 (877-632-1940) between the hours of 7:00 AM and 10:00 PM on November 4 only. Specialists in non-visual voting technologies will troubleshoot problems with voting machines designed for the visually impaired, as well as record information when a blind or visually impaired voter is unable to vote privately and independently.
Barack Obama's campaign's Voter Protection division will have a disability expert available. Call: 877-US-4-OBAMA. I was unable to find a corresponding hotline funded by the McCain campaign.
The National Voter Assistance hotline, at 1-866-OUR-VOTE, is non-partisan and provides assistance from voting experts. In addition, this hotline offers bilingual assistance (Spanish and English). However, there may not be a disability expert on staff.
Filed under: election 2008, voting accessibility, campaign, voter registration, voter suppression, accessible voting, polling place access, disabled voters, rock the disability vote, disability vote, voter protection
