BARRIERS RESTRICT VOTING BY PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

For Immediate Release
Contact: Brewster Thackeray,
Tim Sullivan 202/955-6327

Transportation and problems at polling places are major impediments to voting rights

WASHINGTON, DC, October 19 - Twenty-one percent of U.S. adults with disabilities-representing more than eight million potential voters-say they have been unable to vote in presidential or congressional elections due to barriers faced either at, or in getting to, the polls. The findings raise serious issues for the upcoming elections, which already are cause for concern among voting rights advocates. This poll result is part of a larger disability survey project studying voter preferences, issues of concern, and barriers to voting during this election season. This survey project by the National Organization on Disability has been made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York.

“Issues of voting rights are not confined to a single state or a single voting bloc,” said N.O.D. President Alan A. 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.”

N.O.D.’s poll*, conducted by Harris Interactive®, found that of the roughly one-fifth of U.S. adults with disabilities who said they had wanted to vote, but were not able to:

• 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 were made to feel 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; and
• 8 percent said they were not allowed to have someone help them with the voting machine.

Additionally, 21 percent said they did not know how to register, in spite of legal requirements that those who provide services to people with disabilities also offer help in registering to vote.

“Forty million Americans with disabilities are of voting age and it is critical that our ballots be cast, just like anyone else’s. It is the fundamental promise of democracy that the voices of all citizens will be heard through the ballot box.” Reich said. “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.”

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