When Kenia Flores was studying for her bachelor’s degree at Furman University in South Carolina, she faced significant challenges when attempting to vote in her hometown election in North Carolina. As a blind voter, she discovered that North Carolina did not offer accessible absentee ballots for blind or print-disabled individuals. This left Flores with the uncomfortable choice of either not voting or compromising her right to vote privately and independently by asking someone to mark her ballot for her. Flores explains, “That made me very uncomfortable because it’s a vulnerable position to be in—there is no way for me to verify that the individual marks my ballot as I specified, and unfortunately, that was my only choice if I wanted my vote to be counted.” Flores is now a Voting Access and Election Protection Fellow at Detroit Disability Power (DDP), an organization committed to building the political power of the disability community.
As the general election approaches, disability-led organizations like DDP are intensifying their efforts to address common barriers to voting for disabled individuals. Despite one in four adults nationwide having a disability, significant gaps in voting access remain. Disabled organizers bring unique expertise from lived experiences to the work of improving voting access and forging a more inclusive democracy. The challenges they face are compounded by the nation’s patchwork, state-led voting system, which requires unique strategies for countering voter suppression in each state.
Barriers to Voting Access
Research shows that the vast majority of polling locations nationwide are not fully accessible, presenting potential impediments for disabled voters. Additionally, many states have restrictive voting laws, such as limiting absentee voting, eliminating Election Day registration, or making it more difficult to vote early in person. These rules disproportionately burden disabled voters and voters of color. Over 11% of disabled voters reported difficulties voting in the last general election, despite the expansion of mail-in voting as a pandemic precaution.
“The disability community is often forgotten, even by progressive organizations or those that are working to contact voters,” says Lila Zucker, organizing director at New Disabled South (NDS), a disability rights and justice nonprofit organization. The South has the highest rate of disability in the nation, with over 20% of its population being disabled. However, the region is also rife with disenfranchisement as states enact new election-related crimes and toughen punitive measures. For example, North Carolina was identified by the Voting Rights Lab as experiencing a “siege on voting access.” Georgia made headlines for a bill that criminalized passing out food or water to voters in line, and Alabama passed Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), which criminalized assisting disabled voters with filling out or delivering their absentee ballot applications.
Legal and Legislative Efforts
To address these issues, legal battles and new legislation are crucial. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is challenging many discriminatory voting laws, including Alabama’s SB 1. For many disabled voters, absentee voting is the only practical option, and restrictive laws pose additional barriers to this critical right. Past legislative gains, like the 2002 Help America Vote Act, furthered access for disabled voters by requiring every polling place to have equipment for independent and private voting.
The Accessible Voting Act, reintroduced in Congress earlier this year, aims to establish an Office of Accessibility within the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, create a national resource center on accessible voting, expand voting options for disabled people in federal elections, and improve the accessibility of voting information and resources. Another bill, the Removing Access Barriers to Running for Elected Office for People With Disabilities Act, would protect disabled people who want to run for office from being disqualified for receiving disability benefits or losing those benefits when they run.
Sarah Blahovec, co-founder and president of Disability Victory, supports these legislative efforts, stating that they are “part of an ecosystem of ensuring that disabled people have access to the ballot box.” She emphasizes the importance of voting rights for enabling more disabled people to run for office.
Organizing and Practical Efforts
While legal battles offer long-term solutions, some organizations focus on immediate improvements within the current system. DDP, for instance, has been conducting poll-access audits since 2018 to identify and address issues that prevent disabled people from voting. In 2022, DDP conducted the largest poll-access audit in U.S. history, evaluating 261 polling locations across 15 jurisdictions in Metro Detroit. The audit revealed that 84% of polling locations were inaccessible, but many issues were low-cost and easily fixable, such as adding signage or reorienting voting booths.
DDP shares its audit data with election officials to help them understand and address access barriers. They have also created a toolkit to enable other organizations to replicate their audit methods. In the South, NDS is working to make voter registration, education, and turnout efforts more inclusive of disabled people, including visiting congregate settings like nursing homes.
Conclusion
Efforts to improve voting access for disabled voters are essential for ensuring that their voices are heard on critical issues. Disability rights organizations emphasize that expanding voting rights for disabled people benefits everyone, while restricting access disproportionately harms disabled voters. To build political power on issues that matter to all Americans, including poverty, policing, and climate change, disabled people must have access to the democratic process.
Dessa Cosma, executive director of DDP, highlights the broader impact of these efforts: “When we expand voting rights for disabled people, it helps everyone. When we restrict voting access, it hurts everyone, but it disproportionately hurts disabled voters.”
Efforts to address voting barriers, whether through legal challenges, legislative action, or practical organizing, are crucial for a more inclusive democracy. Disabled voters, like all citizens, deserve the right to participate fully and independently in the electoral process.
