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Story for Reprint
Access Continues to Raise Concerns Among Voters with Disabilities
By Ekaterina Pesheva
Four years after the 2000 Florida debacle, and days away from the upcoming presidential elections, disability rights advocates are growing increasingly nervous that millions of Americans with disabilities might not be able to have their voices heard on Nov 2.
One in five Americans with disabilities, or about eight million potential voters, reported problems getting to polling places or problems at polling places, according to a recent survey conducted by Harris Poll Interactive on behalf of the National Organization on Disability, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group dedicated to integrating America's 54 million people with disabilities into all aspects of life. Of the 54 million Americans with a disability, 40 million are eligible to vote.
"Issues of voting rights are not confined to a single state or a single voting bloc," said NOD President Alan Reich. "They are national issues with national repercussions. We strongly encourage election officials to respond to this serious problem and to direct all poll workers to redouble efforts to ensure that those of us with disabilities receive all necessary attention and assistance."
Of those surveyed 21 percent said they wanted to vote but were unable to do so.
Some of the poll's other finings include:
- 29 percent said they could not get accessible transportation
- 22 percent said their eligibility had been challenged
- 21 percent reported the polling place was not accessible
- 21 percent reported their mental or physical abilities were questioned
- 19 percent said they could not understand the voting machine
- 18 percent said they felt embarrassed or uncomfortable
- 12 percent reported that needed alternative voting formats (e.g. large print ballots, computer-assisted voting booths, paper ballots, etc.) were not available
- 12 percent said needed assistance (e.g. a sign language interpreter) was not available
- 8 percent said they were not allowed to have someone help them with the voting machine
About 21 percent said they did not know how to register. Federal law requires those who provide services to people with disabilities to offer voting registration assistance.
"Forty million Americans with disabilities are of voting age and it is critical that our ballots be cast, just like anyone else's," Reich said. "It is the fundamental promise of democracy that the voices of all citizens will be heard through the ballot box. People with disabilities have more, not less, reason than other Americans to vote, yet only 41 percent of voting-aged citizens with disabilities voted in 2000. In these final days leading up to the 2004 election, and in the months that follow, we are determined to ensure that promise is kept for people with disabilities."
Compromised access to the polls results in a wide political participation gap, voting rights advocates warn. For example, in the 2000 presidential elections, 41 percent of eligible Americans with disabilities, roughly 16 million, voted compared to 51 percent of all eligible Americans.
In response to the 2000 elections, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act, designed to establish universal minimum election standards among states. The act also is aimed of resolving access problems, but it will not be fully enacted until 2006.
According to data from the American Association for Disable People, 46 percent of the 889, 917 eligible Missourians with disabilities cast a ballot in the 2000 election. Hawaii, Arizona and Texas had the lowest voter turnout among people with disabilities with 32.4 percent, 33.8 percent and 34.5 percent respectively of the eligible voters casting a ballot.
Minnesota, Maine and Alaska saw the highest turnout among eligible voters with disabilities with 55 percent, 53.8 percent and 53.1 percent respectively.
"Traditionally, the disability vote has been well below the national average," said Brewster Thackeray, government relations vice president for NOD. "The challenges people face getting to the polls is one reason. Some people report frustration or disillusionment with the government. Some were of course too ill to make it to the polls."
The Harris survey was paid for by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
For more information on voter turnout among people with disabilities by state, log on to: www.aapd-dc.org/dvpmain/elreform/census.html
To register to vote, or to learn more about access to voting places, log on to http://ga4.org/campaign/redirect
Where We Were:
In 2001, the General Accounting Office released a report on polling place and voting equipment accessibility for Americans with disabilities. The report examined state and local laws ensuring accessibility, the ratio of accessible vs. inaccessible voting sites around the country, and challenges to overcome in improving voter access in the future.
Some of the reports findings were:
- Lack of universal standards for state and local voting accessibility laws and practices
- 58 percent of polling places had one or more potential barriers, even though they offered curbside voting
- 28 percent of polling places had one or more potential barriers and did not even offer curbside voting
- None of the polling places visited by the general accounting office's team on Election Day 2000 had special ballots or voting equipment to allow blind voters to cast a secret ballot
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