Disabled voters can count on access to polls

By Justin McIntosh,
Marietta Times
August 7, 2004

With the 14th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act just past, and a presidential election on the way, some citizens are taking the opportunity to ensure everyone can get to the polls.

A potential sleeping giant in this election are the nearly 770,000 disabled Ohio citizens. Most are finding it easier to get to polls now more than ever.

Still, some advocates for people with disabilities say more can be done across the country and locally.

David Long, 40, of Phillips Street, a leader in trying to develop a Marietta City Commission on Disabilities, said he's pleased with the access in Washington County, but even so, improvements are on the way.

"There are some places you can get in, but there are some places it's kind of hard to get into," Long said, "unless a poll worker were to come out and help you in over the hump there."

The American Association for People with Disabilities estimates more than 56 million people in the United States have a disability. According to 1997 U.S. census numbers, 1.7 million Ohio citizens of voting age have a disability. In the 2000 presidential election, about 777,000 disabled citizens voted.

If statistics about polling access hold true for Ohio, 2,200 polling places may not meet federal and state handicap accessibility guidelines. The state doesn't keep such records.

"Ultimately, securing voting locations is the responsibility of the county board of elections, but they are aware of the fact that those locations need to be handicapped accessible," said James Lee, spokesman for the Ohio Secretary of State's office.

Long is optimistic changes made in the ADA, along with the Help Americans Vote Act, will go a long way toward ensuring disabled citizens can vote. Changes in the ADA were signed into place in 1990 by President George Bush. Under the ADA, all Americans are to have an equal opportunity to vote, work, travel and communicate when using public facilities or services.

The Help Americans Vote Act was introduced after the 2000 presidential election led to concerns over out-of-date polling places. The act was passed in 2002, bringing reforms and sending nearly $850 million to states to help with the updates.

An official with the Washington County Board of Elections said every one of the precincts in the county are handicap accessible, but that wasn't always the case. A couple of years ago the county evaluated each polling place and made some changes to meet the requirements.

Becky Kirkbride, director of the Washington County Board of Elections, said even with the changes it is still impossible to ensure the polling places remain completely accessible.

"We don't have control over how they are maintained or what is done with them," Kirkbride said. The polling places in Washington County are public facilities and the board of elections has no jurisdiction over their use.

States must be in compliance with HAVA by 2006. Lee said Ohio is not there yet, but is well on its way.

HAVA requires states to provide at least one voting machine per precinct that is accessible by individuals with disabilities. The voting machine also must offer the same voting experience as it would for non-disabled citizens, namely the same privacy and independence.

Long said part of ADA requires counties to provide absentee ballots or assistance with filling out ballots. The Washington County League of Women Voters often goes to nursing homes to help with the voting process, Long said.

Voting absentee, though, is not always a satisfying option. Long said not having an equal opportunity to vote in a booth, frustrates many disabled citizens.

Angela Katsakis, disability vote project coordinator with the American Association for People with Disabilities, said only one state, Rhode Island, is 100 percent accessible. Katsakis said the problem is caused by several factors, including funding, different levels of accessibility and older public buildings.

Some studies by the association near their headquarters in Washington, D.C., have found that in some cases the vast majority of polling places are functionally accessible, but still technically in violation of guidelines issued by the Department of Justice.

Making a building accessible can be as small as a having adequate parking to the proper elevation on handicap ramps to the right door knobs.

Earlier this year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that individuals may sue counties and states if courthouses are not accessible.

"Realistically, whenever you have the ability to make the system better and you fail to act on it or a government fails to act on it appropriately, I'm not an attorney, but it can be an act of discrimination by not making those strides when you've got a better system out there," Katsakis said.

"Unfortunately, until polling places are 100 percent accessible, it's incumbent upon the person with the disability to call the registrar in advance so they're able to cast their vote in a polling place that is physically accessible for them to do that."

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