By Angelina Clapp, JMU ’20, Political Science
People with disabilities make up one-sixth of the eligible voting population in the United States. Despite making up a significant amount of the electorate, people with disabilities still face significant barriers to casting a ballot and are less likely to vote than the general population. This community has vast experience in many popular issues during elections, such as housing, health care, and public services. However, people with disabilities are not viewed as experts in these areas and are rarely pulled into circles where decisions about these topics are made.
The disenfranchisement of voters with disabilities in the United States is an issue that has consequences on the policies that are made by elected officials and how those policies are implemented. Voting is an avenue for people to advocate for their needs. When people with disabilities are not able to vote, they are not able to advocate for themselves at the ballot box. The consequence of this is that there are less policymakers who understand the issues facing people with disabilities, but also the disenfranchisement of an entire population of people.
According to a 2017 Office of Government Accountability report titled “Voters with Disabilities: Observations on Polling Place Accessibility and Related Federal Guidance,” out of 178 polling places surveyed, 60% of them had one or more impediments to accessibility. The 2020 Iowa caucus is illustrative of the multifaceted issues at stake. In addition to being held during a global pandemic, the caucasus were inaccessible not only to those with disabilities, but also to many Americans who face barriers to voting such as employment issues, language limits, and childcare needs. Voting accessibility is an ongoing and ever-growing issue in the United States, even though Congress has already passed legislation meant to remedy it.
According to a Ruderman Foundation Study, voters with disabilities encounter not just physical barriers, but also poll workers who lack training necessary to operate accessible voting machines. There have been personal accounts of voters with disabilities who are turned away from their precincts because of the lack of training poll workers receive on accessibility requirements. Poll workers must be properly trained in how to operate accessible voting machines, just like they are trained on how to operate standard voting machines and procedures.
The pursuit of equitable and inclusive voting rights for all Americans is viewed as an uphill battle by many people in the fight. Not only is it seen as a partisan issue, it’s an issue that some politicians and stakeholders don’t believe worth fighting for. Minoritized groups have historically been disenfranchised in America, though progress has been made with the passage of the 15th Amendment, 19th Amendment, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and 26th Amendment, among others. There is still more work to be done. Today, minoritized populations face institutionalized and systematic barriers to voting. For voters with disabilities, the barriers can be physical. From inaccessible voting precincts to inequitable voter registration requirements, the system seems to be made to purposely keep individuals with disabilities from exercising their rights. Despite this, there have been numerous strides to increase access, accuracy, and independence for voters with disabilities.
Legislation Promoting the Rights of Voters with Disabilities
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 “prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, State and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation and telecommunications.” The ADA includes policies that cover the accessibility of buildings all the way to voting rights for people with disabilities. Title II covers all activities of State and local governments, including:
- Voting access and access to other civic engagement activities, such as town meetings; and
- Requirements for state and local governments to make reasonable modifications/accommodations to policies, practices, and procedures where necessary to avoid discrimination, unless they can demonctrate doing so would fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program or activity being provided.
However, there is a loophole in that public entities are not required to make changes to meet these requirements if it would cause undue financial burden on them.
Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act
The goal of the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984 was to make voting more accessible to those with disability and people aged 65 or older. It requires polling places to be physically accessible for people with disabilities and if this accommodation cannot be met, then an alternative means of casting a ballot must be provided to the individual. In addition to this, it requires states to provide voting and registration aids to those who may need it. These aids can be ballots with large print for those visually impaired and access to devices for those with hearing impairments. Notes or proof from medical professionals are not required to receive accommodations.
National Voter Registration Act
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 was meant to make it easier for every American, specifically minorities and those with disabilities, to register to vote and maintain their voter registration status. Otherwise known as the Motor Voter Act, it “requires all offices of state-funded programs that are primarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities to provide all program applications with voter registration forms and to assist them in completing the forms,” if necessary. The Act also prohibits the removal of voters from poll rolls only after certain requirements have been met.
Help America Vote Act
The Help America Vote Act of 2002 made improvements to the nation’s voting process. It created the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) which serves as a “national clearinghouse” and resource for information and procedures relating to the administration of federal elections. The Election Assistance Commission ensures access for voters with disabilities by:
- Promoting Awareness → The EAC will work with election officials to promote access requirements outlined in the HAVA, and will work closely with voters with disabilities to learn and make improvements for future elections.
- Election System Certification → The EAC ensures that voters with disabilities have access to the election system and they outline guidelines that increase overall requirements for voting systems to expand access and foster the ability to vote privately and independently.
- Research and Development → The EAC has grant programs to provide election officials with resources to ensure that voters are able to vote privately and independently.
The Help America Vote Act has its own programs that are meant to promote full access and inclusion at the ballot box. The main pillars of the HAVA are:
- Improve voting accessibility by:
- Making polling places fully accessible, including paths of travel, entrances, exits, and voting areas;
- Providing information on the location of accessible voting precincts; and
- Adopting voting procedures that enable people to vote independently and privately.
- Ensure full participation in the electoral process by:
- ensuring protections and advocacy systems (P&As) for individuals with disabilities;
- providing the opportunity to participate in the voting process; and
- providing education to individuals about voter registration and their rights pertaining to voting.
- Provide training and technical assistance to protection and advocacy systems by:
- Disbursing grants to eligible nonprofit organizations to assist P&As in developing proficiency in the use of voting systems and technologies for individuals with disabilities and demonstrating and evaluating the use of such systems and technologies.
For The People Act
Although the For The People Act has not yet passed, it still has multiple new policy changes that would promote the voting rights of people with disabilities in the United States.
Title I Election Access
Subtitle A – Voter Registration Modernization
Part 1. Automatic Voter Registration
This would require states to use automatic voter registration for federal elections and change the current system from an “opt-in” to an “opt-out” system. It also authorizes the Election Assistance Commission to monitor states election practices and provide funding to assist in implementing the new AVR requirements, if necessary.
Part 3. Same Day Voter Registration
This would require states to offer same day registration for federal elections and would amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
Subtitle B – Access to Voting for Individuals with Disabilities
This would encompass the Disability Voting Rights Act and would guarantee people with disabilities the right to use absentee voting procedures to register to vote and cast their ballots. It would require states to establish a process for people with disabilities to vote and request a ballot via absentee, designate a single office to provide information to people with disabilities on voting information and establish a way for people with disabilities to communicate with governmental officials about voting information.
Subtitle F – Promoting Accuracy, Integrity, and Security through voter-verified permanent paper ballot
This would provide individuals with disabilities to vote independently and privately by paper ballot. In addition to this, it would instruct the National Science Foundation to study, test, and develop accessible paper ballot voting, verification and casting mechanisms.
Subtitle I – Voting by Mail
This would require that all mail-in ballots and ballot applications be accessible for voters with disabilities.
Implications and Consequences
With the strengthening and enforcement of the aforementioned laws, and with the passage of the For the People Act, voters with disabilities will have new protections and more accessibility to the ballot box. Voters with disabilities must have the right to vote independently and privately. There must be accessible polling machines and trained poll workers at each precinct in order for voters with disabilities to have the privacy that every voter in America receives. They should also be able to make confident choices for themselves about which voting method (in-person or absentee) would be best for their personal situation. Previous legislation addresses this, but enforcement is lacking. The For the People Act can expand this right with the funding necessary to study and implement accessible voting machines.
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