What challenges voters with disabilities face and what needs to be done to fix them

WHITE PLAINS - At this point, Carole Conklin knows that accessibility issues and being at the polling site for at least 45 minutes are a part of her voting process.

Conklin - who is blind - can easily recall instances of being frustrated and distracted while attempting to vote. 

"I was only able to vote independently and privately three times in the past four years," said Conklin, chair of the Yonkers mayor's Disability Advisory Board.

Other times she has waited for a ballot-marking device that is most often used by those with disabilities to be repaired or prepared. She has also had to deal with polling workers reading her the ballot in a noisy, bustling room. 

"This hinders me from being independent in my voting process," Conklin said. "There should be no reason that I shouldn't be able to go to my polling site … and then cast my vote."

Conklin's sentiments resonated at the Greenburgh Public Library, as people with a range of disabilities recounted voting barriers that ran the gamut from polling places not being accessible to having to deal with untrained poll workers. 

Ahead of the November elections, the group came together for a workshop to encourage the disabled community to participate in the election process. 

Some of the around 40 attendees also tried out voting technology tailored for specific conditions such as blindness and motor disabilities.

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State Sen. Shelley Mayer, D-Yonkers, who was at the symposium, said, "There is a pent-up frustration that the voting process should be far easier, and more accessible for people with differing abilities."

"We have a way to go, and I look forward to working with them as an advocate in Albany with my colleagues," she added. 

Disability groups growing in power

They might gain those advocates as people with disabilities are making up an increasingly powerful voting block heading into the 2020 elections, according to a 2019 report by researchers at Rutgers University.

During the turnout surge in the 2018 midterms, the report found, people with disabilities exceeded the number of Hispanic/Latino voters and neared the number of African-American voters. 

If people with disabilities voted at the same rate as people without disabilities, there would have been an additional 2.35 million ballots cast in the 2018 midterms, according to the analysis. 

Yet, as the report points out, the difference in turnout between people with and without disabilities was 4.7 points. (There was almost no gap between employed people with and without disabilities.)

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Dr. Sharon McLennon-Wier, who participated in the event, said that lower turnout among those who have significant disabilities could be partly attributed to the accessibility of polling locations.

"Some of the buildings where polling stations are located are usually schools and churches that are very, very old," she said. "They haven't really been ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] compliant or been upgraded. So just knowing that, people feel well, 'why even try again.'" 

Still, McLennon-Wier insists that the main thing is to get up and go vote. People with disabilities can call their local independent living center or other groups to get assistance, she said. 

Conklin concurred, saying that preparation and advocating for yourself is critical for people with disabilities who are preparing to cast their ballots.  

"Know who you are going to select because you want them to be the individuals that'll represent you," Conklin said. "And it's not going to happen if you are not prepared."

Twitter: @T_Cusaac

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