National Council on Independent Living

Figure 1: 64% identified themselves as people with physical disabilities, 27% identified as having sensory disabilities, and 9% as having mental/behavioral disabilities

In May 2007, the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) sent out a survey to members in order to determine the impact of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA).

The Voting survey asked four questions to determine when respondents vote; if they are able to get in their polling place; whether they use a private, unassisted ballot and, if so, what type; and what their disability is. Respondents were also given the opportunity to include any other information they felt was important.

270 people, representing 109 disabilities, responded to the survey. Most respondents (64%, Fig. 1) identified themselves as people with physical disabilities. 27% of respondents identified as having sensory disabilities and 9% of respondents identified as having mental/behavioral disabilities.

Figure 2: 73% vote at their polling place, 19% vote by mail, 8 % prefer early voting When asked for their preferred method of voting, most respondents (73%, Fig. 2) vote at their polling place on election day. One respondent stated, “I…just always felt better about going on regular voting day and being a part of election day.” 19% of respondents prefer to vote by mail. “I find it easier and much more convenient to request a mail-in ballot to come to my home…” a respondent from Williamsburg, PA explained, “…especially in cold and rainy weather.” Eight percent of respondents preferred early voting.

Figure 2

Figure 3: Only 96% are able to access the polling place, 4% are not Of those who choose to vote at their polling place on election day, only 96% of respondents (Fig. 3) are able to access the polling place. Four percent are not. A recurring response to this question was that voters could access their polling place with assistance. Others reported transportation issues, inadequate parking and signage as reasons for not being able to access their polling place on election day. One respondent elaborated that the lacking door-to-door transportation system makes it hard for people who are blind to vote by themselves.

Figure 3

The third question in the survey was whether voters have ever been allowed a private, unassisted ballot and, if so, what type. The majority of voters (60%, Fig. 4) reported that they have been allowed such a ballot. On the other hand, 26% have not. Eight percent found the question not applicable to them because they vote by mail, and six percent have either never asked or have no need to ask. Of those who have been allowed a private, unassisted ballot, the majority reported using touch screen/electronic machines. Other responses included paper or “old” voting machines, voice output/audio machines, and Automark. In many cases, the electronic voting machines have improved the voting experience dramatically. One respondent shared that “because of this new voting machine, I look forward to voting.” Another reported that “the new machines have allowed my last three or so ballots to be the first I’ve ever cast independently and it feels great!”

Figure 4

Though some survey respondents shared stories of success, many more shared frustrations; the most common response was complaints about poll workers specifically. While some complaints were system-based, others were in response to negative attitudes. One respondent reported that poll workers “seem shocked when I tell them a wheelchair ramp doesn’t mean total accessibility.” Most reports of problems with poll workers focused on how poll workers are “not properly trained to operate accessible voting machines.”

Poll workers’ general lack of training adds a great deal of time and inconvenience to the voting experience. “Only one poll worker knows how to work the electronic poll machine…” at one respondents’ polling place “…so I have to wait for them to be free at which point my wife usually helps me so it’s not private or independent.” This respondent isn’t alone in exchanging a completely independent ballot for time and convenience. Another respondent “noticed the elderly people who were found to have an error on their ballot [at their polling place] chose to invalidate part or all of it rather than find and solve the problem.”

Despite obstacles and frustrations, respondents demonstrated determination and some went above and beyond to become poll workers themselves. In 1990, one respondent “was the first person with a disability to serve as an Election Judge for the City and County of Denver and was able to get the Board of Elections to provide training materials in alternative format. In Washington, DC, I served as a poll worker and recruited others with disabilities to serve as poll workers.”

Many respondents noted the importance of and need for people with disabilities to become visible participants in the voting experience. In New York, “counties can buy whichever accessible voting machine they want [but] there are rural towns who don’t believe they have anyone in their town who needs accessibility features.” No matter how a ballot is cast, however, the most important goal is to increase voter participation. As one respondent explained, “If we don’t vote we don’t have a voice. It’s that simple.”