Frequently Asked Questions
Voting and People with Disabilities
Q: What problems do people with disabilities experience voting at the polls?
A: There are a variety of problems people with disabilities may encounter at their local precincts. Some polling places are physically inaccessible, thus preventing many people from even entering the building. These individuals must then rely on curbside voting, which prevents them from voting independently. The voting equipment itself is often inaccessible. Paper ballots do not allow those with visual or certain manual disabilities to vote privately and independently.
Q: Does the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) provide funding to the states?
A: Yes. HAVA allocates $850 million over 3 years to provide one accessible voting unit per polling place, $100 to make precincts physically accessible, and $9.3 to the protection and advocacy system for education and technical assistance.
Q: How can the accessibility and usability of voting equipment be evaluated?
A: First, the question must be asked whether a person with a disability can use the voting equipment as efficiently, accurately, and independently as a person without a disability. Next, it is essential to understand the functionality of any voting system. The whole voting process (reading ballot, scanning choices, reviewing choices, actually making a selection) needs to be considered when determining the accessibility of a voting system. Third, the focus should be on attributes rather than diagnosis. This will eliminate assumptions about what a person with a specific disability may need and allow the most flexible use of voting technology.
Q: What voting equipment is accessible to people with disabilities and why?
A: DRE (Direct Recording Electronic) voting systems are the most accessible to people with disabilities. These are most often found in touchscreen format, although there are also dial machines. These machines provide increased access to those with visual disabilities by offering an audio presentation of the ballot with the use of headphones. A moveable number pad can also be used with the machine for people with visual, dexterity, and other disabilities. Many machines allow the font size on the screen to be changed, and the height and position of the screen can be adjusted. All these features ensure that individuals with disabilities can vote independently and in secret.
Q: Recent news reports point to problems with security of DRE's. What do I need to know about safety and security of DRE systems?
A: There are some legitimate concerns regarding the security of DRE machines. These include the fact that the source code is not public and worries that the vendors of the machine could manipulate the results in a way that would not be detectable to an outsider. There is disagreement, however, about how probable it is that malicious code could be written in the system without being detected by federal, state, or local authorities. Although these problems are real, they are fixable. Any modifications that are made, though, should not be at the expense of accessibility for all.
Q: What can advocates do at the local level to influence the accessibility of the voting process?
A: The first step is for disability rights advocates to become informed about what kind of voting equipment is available and what is required by both federal and state law. They can contact their local county election officials and encourage them to purchase the most accessible machines possible. They can also request that any system under consideration be tested by people with various disabilities. Advocates can urge that counties use funds from the Voting Modernization Board to purchase at least one DRE machine for each polling place. Finally, advocates can request that counties establish an infrastructure that promotes voting accessibility.
Q: In addition to accessible voting equipment, what infrastructure considerations can benefit people with disabilities in the voting process?
A: Accessible voting equipment is clearly important, but it is also essential that county election officials have an ongoing infrastructure that promotes and supports the goal of accessible voting. Some possible ways of implementing this are to establish a community-based voting access committee, perform outreach and education to the disability community about new voting equipment, and establish a system to ensure the concerns of the disability community are heard and addressed.
[Source: "Voting FAQs 
(www.dredf.org/voting/voting_faq.html), DREDF]
