The voting process can be overwhelming for anyone, but for people with physical disabilities or language barriers, voting can be especially challenging. The United States (US) has enacted numerous laws to ensure accessibility to public spaces. These laws help ensure that everyone, regardless of ability level, can access polling locations.
The Americans with Disabilities Act, also known as (ADA) and the Help America to Vote Act (HAVA) are two laws that protect voting rights of US citizens with disabilities or those who struggle due to language barriers. These laws guarantee voters the rights to –
- Vote privately and unaided (if possible), and
- Have access to a polling place equipped with voting machines for voters with disabilities.
Also, these laws also outline the minimum accommodations that polling places must make order to meet the needs of all in a comprehensive and safe way. These include:
- Wheelchair accessible voting booths
- Entrances and doorways at least 32 inches wide
- Handrails on all stairs.
- Special voting machines for people who are blind or visually impaired
- Marked parking spaces for people with disabilities
- Well-marked routes pointing the way to voting places
The Voting Rights Act establishes protective measures for people with language barriers. Local or state jurisdictions can provide assistance to people who have limited ability to read, speak, write, or understand English. Some voting offices may offer the following:
- Voting materials (e.g., ballots and voting instructions in other languages),
- Bilingual poll workers, and
- Voting information online in other languages
In addition, the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) website provides information for voters in English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. On this site, you can also find a glossary containing terms and phrases commonly used during elections in the seven languages mentioned above.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, special precautions are being taken at polling places. These precautions may include changes in voting place location, translator availability and new safety procedures. If you have a disability, you can:
- Seek help from poll workers to use an accessible voting machine,
- Bring someone to help you with the voting process, and
- Contact your state or territorial election office to see other services are available.
If you would like to learn more about whether your polling place has the accommodations necessary to help you vote or to learn about other ways to vote (eg., mail in ballots), contact your state or local electoral office or call toll-free 1-844-USA-GOV1 (1-844-872-4681) and select the option #2 to receive help in Spanish.
NHCOA invites all Hispanics to learn about the resources available to make voting easier. We encourage all eligible persons, regardless of their physical or language abilities to participate in the upcoming presidential elections and vote to improve the lives of the Latinx in the US.
References:
USAGov
https://www.usa.gov/voting-laws
Election Assistance Commission (EAC)
https://www.eac.gov/election-officials/voting-accessibility
