Everyone is entitled to vote, but access to voting is not equal for all.
Many polling locations are inaccessible to people with disabilities. Issues such as the absence of ramps, long distances from residential areas and disregard for sensory needs all contribute to this problem. Additionally, delays in sending out absentee ballots may cause many people with disabilities to be unable to vote.
Federal law requires that all polling locations be accessible to all in every way possible, however, this is not always the case.
Obstacles Disabled People Face
Even though Houston sophomore Haileystar Castaneda is not old enough to vote, she said via email she has noticed obstacles that disabled individuals like her might face when going to vote, like broken elevators, steep ramps and narrow doorways.
“I feel like a lot of times it’s ignorance or people just never consider accessibility as a factor because they’ve never had issues with it,” Castaneda said via email. “And sometimes it’s just plain ableism, why would I try to make accommodations for someone that I don’t care about?”
While absentee voting is a popular option, according to the Center for American Progress it poses complications for those with vision impairments. Without a braille option, these voters often struggle, and along with other voters with physical disabilities, they face difficulties when dropping their ballots off at a post office or drop box.
Nysha Wallace, a success coach for accessibility and case management at Albion, has a vision impairment called Stargardt’s. Wallace said she prefers to vote in person, and has to have her husband stand next to her to read the ballot.
“There are no large print or audio options available, so my husband stands with me and circles my option,” Wallace said.
This takes away her voting privacy. Wallace also said that there has been confusion on whether it was legal to have her husband with her, or if she needed to have a worker from the site.
In 2016, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted a study to determine what challenges disabled individuals faced when going to vote in person by looking at 178 different locations.
The GAO study found that 60% of locations had obstacles that made it difficult for disabled individuals to vote.
They found that navigating inside the polling location can be difficult, especially in places like schools with long hallways, or buildings with stairs. Once someone reaches the place they’re supposed to vote, their voting station itself may not accommodate a wheelchair. Additionally, many polling locations lack adequate parking options.
Wallace said polling sites are designed for people who are not disabled, making it easy for them to understand where they need to be in order to cast their votes.
“If we want to achieve equity, we need to think of the experience a person without a disability would have and then we need to design spaces so all can have that experience,” Wallace said.
She added that being disabled should not be a reason someone is excluded from the voting process.
Transportation is another barrier that people with disabilities run into when going to vote; they might not be able to drive themselves safely and need to depend on a family member or driving service that has the right accommodations to take them.
According to PBS, there have also been incidents where people are being told they “don’t look disabled” when requesting accommodations.
Progress in Making Change
Director of Accessibility Services Elizabeth Rudolph said she has noticed disparities when it comes to accessibility in voting locations. She has seen some improvements over the years with absentee ballots and early voting, but questions how volunteers answer questions if a person is deaf or mute.
“Instead of having an ASL interpreter, are they asking them to use an app on their phone?” Rudolph said. “What are people doing in order to answer questions?”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, disabled people make up 28.7% of the voting population. This includes conditions related to cognition, mobility and vision.
As said in an article by the CAP, the percentage of people with disabilities who experience voting difficulties has dropped 15% from 2012 to 2020.
In recent years, according to the CAP, disabled voters have made their voices heard by casting absentee ballots. In 2020, 51% of disabled voters voted by mail.
What Are More Solutions?
According to the PBS article, the U.S. Election Assistance Committee found that “if voters with disabilities had voted at the same rates as voters without disabilities, there would be around 2 million more votes cast.”
National Disability Rights Network offers both temporary and permanent solutions to provide accommodations for disabled individuals. Examples include installing ramps, contactless doors and necessary improvements to sidewalks, pathways and elevators for the physically impaired.
Rudolph said that there should also be options available to those with hearing loss and those with speech impediments, adding that they need the necessary accommodations to be heard.
“Your vote is your voice,” Rudolph said. “In order to get people who care about disability issues, I think disabled people need to go out and make it be known what they’re happy with and what they’re not.”
Early voting ends today and Election Day is tomorrow. For accurate information on polling locations, hours and requirements, visit official election websites or contact your local election office.
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