Election Day is less than six weeks away. Are you planning to vote in person this year? For those with disabilities, going to polling stations can be a real challenge.
People with disabilities are less likely to vote than people without disabilities. Disabled voters can face many barriers to voting, from inaccessible polling places to restrictions on absentee ballots.
This November, Connecticut voters could approve a ballot initiative that could create a pathway to give everyone access to absentee ballots, without needing an excuse making voting easier for voters with disabilities.
Today, we hear about what access this looks like in our state and what can be done to improve it. If you are a voter with a disability, we want to hear from you. What have your experiences been like at the polls?
GUESTS:
- Sara Kempner: Director of Creative Campaigns & Collaborations at the U.S. Vote Foundation
- Ellen Telker: Retired attorney and President of Connecticut Council of the Blind, an affiliate of American Council of the Blind
- Ben Hovland: Chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission
To report problems at the polls, you can call the Election Day Hotline 1-866-SEEC-INFO (1-866-733-2463).
Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.
TRANSCRIPT:
Catherine Shen: This is where we live from Connecticut Public Radio, I'm Catherine Shen. Election day is less than six weeks away. Here in Connecticut, many residents show up to their polling place and cast their ballot, usually without a hitch. But for people with disabilities, voting can be a real challenge. In 2022, nearly 20% of voters with disabilities reported difficulties voting at a polling location. That's according to a recent report from Rutgers and the Election Assistance Commission. Stamford resident Rob Reiner is already thinking through the best way to vote in November.
Rob Reiner: I was an athlete before I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and I was one of these people that did triathlons and inline speed skating racing, and bike racing and swimming, everything I could do, running, go to the gym. I was diagnosed in, when I was 50, and I'm 62 right now. So far, I've gotten the voting place and I've gotten the letter saying I can vote, but I haven't gotten my absentee ballot yet. So that's coming. If worst comes to worst, I'll tough it out and I can, I can make it, I have someone that can drive me, and I'll get my vote there. I'm determined, and I want to, I want to vote. I need to get my ballot cast for this election. It's very, very, very important.
Catherine Shen: Today we're talking about voting while disabled — and what can be done to improve access at the ballot box. Joining us now is Sara Kempner. She's the director of Creative Campaigns & Collaborations at the U.S. Vote Foundation. That's a nonprofit nonpartisan organization that provides voter services. Sara, welcome to Where We Live today.
Sara Kempner: Thank you for having me, Catherine. I'm so thrilled to be here to help Connecticut residents access the vote.
Catherine Shen: Well, we're looking forward to this conversation very much. And also with us today is Ellen Telker. She's a retired attorney and president of the Connecticut Council of the Blind. She was born blind and has advocated for no-excuse absentee ballots for all Connecticut residents. Ellen, welcome to the show today.
Ellen Telker: Good morning. I'm really pleased to be here.
Catherine Shen: And we're pleased that you're here with us as well. And for our listeners, let us know if you're a voter with a disability, we want to hear from you, give you some space to share your story. Join the conversation. 888-720-9677, or find us on Facebook and Twitter @wherewelive. So Sara, I want to start with you here. Persons with disabilities have been advocating for their right to vote and accessible voting for decades. What has this looked like through recent history?
Sara Kempner: Well, most recently, there was legislation passed in 2002 called the Help America Vote Act, and that act has been very significant in laying the legal groundwork to make voting accessible. This Act, we call it HAVA, really helps people understand that they have the right to a private and independent vote, and that means the right to cast your ballot without anyone seeing how you voted, and to do so on your own. In pursuit of that goal, every polling location in Connecticut now has an absentee, or sorry, an accessible ballot marking device that can help people with disabilities cast their ballot. So that means they can use — they can use a screen reader. They can use a touch screen. You can make the font larger. There's a lot of different features on the machine if you want to vote in person. If you choose to vote with an absentee ballot in Connecticut, you can now apply for a permanent absentee ballot. There are a lot of different things. And in addition to making the voting locations physically accessible, we now have more communication ramps to try to let people know what their rights are and how they can navigate their way to the ballot box.
Catherine Shen: Can you give us an idea of how big is the voting block of disabled voters?
Sara Kempner: The voting block is actually one of the largest blocks in the entire country. It's estimated that one in six voters has a disability, yes, and so it's similar to some racial populations in the country as well. I think a lot of people don't necessarily identify themselves as a voting block, because if you're a person with a disability, you're obviously so many other things besides just someone who's living with a challenge. So perhaps voters with disabilities don't think of themselves as a voting block, but maybe if there was that perception it might help people organize to make sure that the Help America Vote Act gets fully implemented and that more people can access the ballot.
Catherine Shen: And this includes everyone with a disability, right, including those with invisible disabilities?
Sara Kempner: Absolutely. When you look at some of the different statistics that measure turnout rates for people with disabilities, those figures will vary depending on the source that you look at. So you might see some that say voters with disabilities have an 8% turnout gap. But there was a recent New York Times article that put the number at 11% and that's because you can look at, you know, whether someone has a physical disability or perhaps a cognitive disability, a communication disorder. There's so many different just distant, different disabilities that are included in this, and I think with invisible disabilities it can be particularly challenging because poll workers won't necessarily be cued to know if they need to be at the ready with an accessible ballot marking device or how to make that voter not feel stigmatized, right, not to call them out or question them about the methods that they're using to cast their ballot. For instance, if they choose to use an assistant, I think it's really important for poll workers, people with disabilities and the general population, to know that, yes, you do have the right to the assistant of your choice in Connecticut, as long as it's not someone from your union or your, your boss, or a candidate on the ballot, unless they're a direct family member. But just as importantly, you have the right to refuse assistance, right? And I have found through U.S. Vote Foundation, when we work with different populations voting with disabilities, that most people really do just want that private and independent vote. They don't necessarily want to be called out or assisted in any manner.
Catherine Shen: I think sometimes too what, what in increases the challenge is also not knowing what questions to ask or, I mean, we're having this conversation to sort of reinforce that, what rights we all have. And so, can you explain what improvements have been made since the HAVA, the Help America Vote Act, was enacted in 2002. You know, what, what kind of improvements have we seen since then?
Sara Kempner: Well, some of the improvements include, you know, also based off the Americans with Disability Act, the physical barriers, right? You know, having more polling locations that make sure they have ramps and ample space, even in the hallway, to get into the polling location. But you also see, I think importantly, when people know they have the rights found in HAVA, the right to self-advocate and to ask for reasonable modifications. So for instance, whether you have an invisible disability or a visible disability when you come to your polling location requesting curbside voting, if that's the best method for you, and you can have poll workers come out, and they'll send someone from each party, and they'll bring you a privacy sleeve. Let's say you have a mobility challenge, and you've come into the polling location and it's difficult for you to stand in a line. You have the right to ask for a chair while you're waiting. You have the right to ask to be moved to the front of the line. So all of those are great options. I think also, you know, if somebody makes a plan to vote and they start to look, you know, how, you know, how am I going to cast my ballot? And you can go on and make that plan. For instance, at us.vote, we have a voter journey map that was really helpful for people with disabilities to map out their journey. And let's say you're assigned to a polling location that you happen to know is not really that accessible for you. Perhaps it's at a school or some other public office building that you've been to before, and you know that there's a couple of steps, or there's a corridor that's a little narrow that might be difficult for you to navigate. You also have the right to ask for your polling location to be changed, and to a place that you know that you can access. In our experience at U.S. Vote, we are often contacting local election officials to make sure our information is up to date, and we have found they're really eager to accommodate people with disabilities who want to vote. So I think another thing you can use to exercise your rights from Help America Vote Again is to go onto us.vote, look up your local election official, and give them a call, write them an email, and tell them, like, can you please make sure you know that the accessible ballot marking device is set up for me? Or can I come in and practice it? On the Connecticut website for voting through Stephanie Thomas, she's put up a video that actually shows you how to use the accessible ballot marking device, which I think is wonderful, because I think some voters might look at it and think it's — hearing about an accessible ballot marking device, they might think it's like putting together Ikea furniture. Like, oh no, how do I use this thing? But when you look at it, you're like, oh, it's just a tablet. I just put on the headphones. So if you take that time to look up what your rights are, to map out your vote and make a plan to vote, I think that's one of the best ways that you can vote seamlessly. And now in Connecticut, early as well.
Catherine Shen: Well, and then, talking about early voting, there's been so much conversation about that, and also with absentee balloting as well. Can you talk about how has early voting and absentee balloting changed access to the polls for voters with disabilities?
Sara Kempner: That's a great question. Let's start with absentee balloting, since this will be our first election with early voting. You know, we all saw during COVID in the state of Connecticut, we had easier access to the ballots when they were mailed to us, and the turnout rate for voters with disabilities went from, I think it was 56% in 2016 to I think around 62, maybe 63% in 2020. Now, part of that could have been because it was, you know, an election that people were really plugged in with. But I think having access to those mail-in ballots, having drop boxes, that really made a huge difference. Every time we can take away one of the steps to get people prepared to vote, we're removing a true barrier for people with disabilities that I don't think people are always aware of, right? Like, I'm sure Ellen could tell us about voters with visual impairments that, let's say that they, they accessed a ballot through email that the state of Connecticut sent to them, and they want to fill it out. You know, they'll still need to print that ballot. And if you're visually impaired, that's difficult. You know, getting your envelope, getting everything all set up is — it's very tricky. So I think any time the state of Connecticut is doing something that takes away that hurdle, you're gonna probably see an increase in voter turnout in really all sectors, but particularly people with these extra barriers to the ballot box. As for early voting, this will be the first real rollout, besides the primary that we saw in the spring. So I'm really curious to see if people will embrace it. I definitely recommend that all voters, not just voters with disabilities, you know, go on to U.S. Vote and find your polling place, because it's possible that it's not going to be the place that you voted on Election Day in the past. Check it out and see if you find it accessible. I love the idea of having people with disabilities try to make a plan to vote early, because, you know, you might have to take extra steps with finding accessible transportation. When you get there, let's say that the accessible ballot marking device has not been taken out of the box yet. Or if it's your first time voting, you might be asked to show identification. Let's say you don't have the proper voter ID. You, you can, by the way, still vote anyway. You just have to sign a form. You're, it's, it's, that's okay. I don't want that to deter anyone from voting. But just to say, or let's say you were going to bring an assistant of your choice with you. With early voting, you have just a little bit more time and space to plan that out around everyone's schedule. And also if you have a disability that you don't feel every day, so let's say, for example, you have MS or diabetes or some other condition that only bothers you on some days. Well, what if you wait until the very last day? If you wait till Election Day to cast that ballot, you might not be really feeling that well. So if you avail yourself of the opportunity to go vote early, starting later this month — or, no no, next month, in October — you will have more options, just to make sure that you — in case you need a plan B.
Catherine Shen: And Ellen, I want to bring you here. Ellen's the president of Connecticut Council of the Blind, and talking about that flexibility: this November, Connecticut voters could approve a ballot initiative that will allow anyone to get an absentee ballot without needing an excuse. And as Sara mentioned earlier, Connecticut will allow early voting this year, which serves as another accommodation for voters with disabilities. And polls open on October 21 and early voting runs through Sunday, November 3. You know, what are your, what are your thoughts about that, Ellen? What's your reaction to that?
Ellen Telker: That's, well, that's all very, very good. But our, and, and certainly, a lot of progress has been made. We, we, if you are blind, you, there's, every polling place has to have a machine which, which I use, and I love, it's kind of, you have a keypad like a telephone, and it gives you, you know, verbal instructions. And so, you know, it'll say the candidates, race number one, and it lists the candidates. And you pick the one, you, you know, it's, and then you can review your ballot as you go along and, and then when it's done, they print it out, and then you put it in the, you have the, they you take, take you to put you, put it in the box and, and it's really great, and that's what I like to do. I like to go in person. But our concern at the Connecticut, one of the issues we have is absentee ballots. So, because a lot of people, a lot of disabled people, are elderly, you know, who've developed a disability later in life. So they're not, I mean, I've been disabled all my life, so I know how to do things pretty well. But you know, if you're an older person, you maybe don't wanna go to the polls, especially since the pandemic, a lot of people don't like to be in crowds and all that kind of thing so, and it certainly is an option that non disabled people have to vote by absentee ballot. And, but we're, we're feeling very frustrated because I have contacted the legal counsel for, at the Secretary of State's office. And he is under the impression that he said some group at UConn, and I think he said the US attorney, or something, told him that the absentee ballot situation is completely accessible. And I said, well, I thought, I didn't, I don't think I actually said it. But I said, well, did you actually have some blind people try it, you know? And so, so I said, well, could I get some of our members to check it out? And he said, Oh, absolutely, let me know. Well, and, what a lot of people don't understand is people with disabilities all have various, like, equipment that they use. I mean, some people may use a Mac. Some people use Windows computers. Some people do it on their phone. And then it depends. You know, what, what version of like my screen reader, it's called JAWS, and it speaks, what version of JAWS Do you have? You know what iPhone do you have, right? And so it might make a difference. What's accessible for one person isn't for someone else. So I did, one of our members that did get back to me, he tried it, and he used an iPhone 12, and he said he could read the form. This is a form to apply for an absentee ballot, and he could read the form, but he couldn't fill it out. So and, you know, people have different levels of technical training. I find technology a little overwhelming. Some people can do everything, other people can't, you know. So I don't, I don't. And then the attorney, the legal counsel, he explained the process to me, and I thought it was very complicated, because you first have to fill out the application for the absentee ballot, and then you have to get it to your town clerk's office. And that's, oh, that's an issue. I said, How come some states — because I know, like, in Massachusetts, they have a system whereby they, a blind person can do it from start to finish online, and, and you get a PIN number from, and, you know, because everybody said, well, he said, well, you know, we have the legal counsel. Well, we have security concerns. And I guess there was some article in The New York Times or something about how, you know, any of these online systems could be hacked, and all and, and I said, well, you know Massachusetts, I know people, they're actually doing it, and they've had no problem. And they get up so they get a PIN number from the, you go on the state website, and you ask for a PIN number, and you get it, so that is unique to you. And so, you know, you, so there couldn't be somebody else doing it. So he said, well, we couldn't do it that way, because they have a centralized system. Our system is based locally. So we go, you know, you go through your town clerk's office, and so we couldn't do it that way. We would have to amend the Constitution, he says, so.
Catherine Shen: So I just want to jump in real quick here to just reemphasize a conversation we were having earlier, that it just furthers how — what you're describing here, Ellen is really painting us a picture that this is a very, very complicated and what sounds to be a very convoluted process. And I do want to take a moment here just to clarify that in 2020, Connecticut residents were able to get access to absentee ballots due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But in 2022, Connecticut returned to the policy that voters needed to have an excuse to vote by mail. And there is a ballot initiative on the ballot this November to create a pathway for no-excuse absentee ballots. And that's according to reporting from the Connecticut Mirror. And I do also want to take a moment here to share that we did reach out to the Connecticut Secretary of the State's office, and here's what Secretary Stephanie Thomas had to say about accessibility to polling locations around our state.
Stephanie Thomas: So, I like to remind voters that they have many rights, whether or not they consider themselves part of the disability community or not. One thing that comes to mind is, if someone has trouble standing for a long amount of time, they can go to any moderator at their polling place let them know they've arrived, that they need a seat. The moderator will provide them with a chair and hold their place in line, and that can help many different types of voters. We also have something in Connecticut that many voters are not aware of, called the ballot marking device or IVS machine, and that is good for people who have difficulty with fine motor skills. So for example, I say Parkinson's Disease is a perfect example, where you have difficulty coloring in the bubble accurately. So you can use the IVS machine. They have a touch screen available. But I had also heard a lot of comments when I first became secretary last year about either the machine was still in the box or the poll worker didn't know how to operate it. So I have spent the last year and a half making sure that both the public is avail— aware that the machine exists, but I also have monthly meetings with all the registrars of voters, and in those meetings, one of the things we've talked about is the IVS machine. So I think if voters have had that experience in the past, I don't think they will find that same situation in the upcoming election.
Catherine Shen: That was Connecticut Secretary of the State's office, Stephanie Thomas. Ellen, I wanna get a really quick reaction here before we go to break. Can you respond to what we heard from Secretary Thomas?
Ellen Telker: Just that she did not say anything about people with visual impairments.
Catherine Shen: And Sara, what about your quick reactions here?
Sara Kempner: I would say that a great alternative, if you need, is to get that permanent absentee ballot request. You call your town clerk, they'll mail it to you. It is not presently available online.
Catherine Shen: And what about Ellen's question on whether or not —
Sara Kempner: I think Ellen brings up such an important point about, we call it in voting jargon EBR, electronic ballot return. Connecticut doesn't have it yet, but there are states that do, and it's a really important, really, method of voting for people who are visually impaired, which, by the way, is gonna become most of us as we age.
Catherine Shen: Thank you so much for that. Appreciate it. Coming up, we hear from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which is an independent government agency created to ensure accessible, accurate and secure elections. Just want to give a massive thanks to Ellen Telker, who, of the Connecticut Council of the Blind, for joining us this morning. Thank you so much, Ellen, for spending time with us today.
Ellen Telker: Thank you.
Catherine Shen: And Sara Kempner, who's the director of creator — Creative Campaigns & Collaborations at the U.S. Vote Foundation, will be staying with us. And if you are a voter with a disability, we would love to hear from you. What have your experiences at the polls been like? Let us know, 888-720-9677, or leave us a comment on Facebook and Twitter @wherewelive.
Catherine Shen: This is Where We Live from Connecticut Public Radio, I'm Catherine Shen. In recent years, there have been efforts to make polling places and voting more accessible, but voters with disabilities are less likely to vote than people without disabilities. That's according to a new report from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and Rutgers University. Joining us now is Ben Hovland. He's the chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which is an independent government agency created to ensure accessible, accurate and secure elections. Ben, welcome to the show today.
Ben Hovland: Thanks, Catherine, it's great to be with you.
Catherine Shen: And still with us is Sara Kepner with the U.S. Vote Foundation. And for our listeners, if you're a voter with a disability, we would love to hear from you and let us know what your experiences have been like at the polls. Give us a call, 888-720-9677, or find us on Facebook and Twitter @wherewelive. So Ben, you've been listening to the conversation. Anything that jumped out to you that you would like to respond so far?
Ben Hovland: Yeah, I think it's been a really great conversation so far. And I think, you know, so many great points, you know. First and foremost is, is the progress that we've made. Obviously, still a lot of work to do, but that we have made improvements in the voting process. There are more options to vote. And again, with, with 40 days until the election, you know, this is the point where it's critical for, for listeners, for citizens who want to vote, to make sure they're registered, make sure their registration is up to date, like at a current address, and then make that plan to vote, as was talked about earlier. You know, are you going to vote absentee or by mail? Are you going to vote early in person? Are you going to wait till Election Day? And you know, your vote counts the same no matter how you participate, but thinking about what works best for you and taking advantage of those options.
Catherine Shen: And I think as part of that movement too, and with more conversations about needing more accessible voting, was the report that was released in partnership with Rutgers Business Schools and the Election Assistance Commission, which examined how the Help America Vote Act has impacted the voting experience of voters with disabilities. So Ben, can you talk about, what did this report find in terms of — regarding the turnout of voters with disabilities since the act was adopted?
Ben Hovland: Yeah, thanks for that. You know, I think the, I mean, to, the real highlight is, what we've seen is a reduction in the turnout gap in — in 2000 the, there was a gap of about 16.8% with voters between voters with disabilities compared to those without disabilities. And in 2020 we saw that gap shrank to 11.3% and that tells me two things. You know, one, over five and a half percent, you know, there's now over five and a half percent of Americans with disabilities who are able to participate who weren't 20 years ago. But it also tells me that there's a lot of work to do. Earlier this year, the Election Assistance Commission, you know, had a, we hosted a hearing, both to look at this report and then also to have conversations with election officials, with other stakeholders, thinking about, how do we now make that next leap? How do we get that next 5%? How do we continue to improve the election process to ensure that it's accessible for all Americans?
Catherine Shen: And how did voters feel about voting by mail and also absentee ballots?
Ben Hovland: You know, it's a great option for many Americans. Of course, more Americans that never got exposed to it during the pandemic. You know, many Americans had been voting by mail for a number of years, including myself. But, you know, in 2016 we saw about 25% of Americans voted by mail. In 2020 that shot up over 45%. You know, my guess is that for this year, for the 2024 presidential election, that number will go down, but it will be above where we were in 2016. So, you know, we'll probably see more mail ballots this year than we have in any year other than, than 2020. And, and part of that is because it is a great way to vote for many Americans, it's, it provides opportunities to vote in the convenience of your home, own home, in your own time, using your own potentially assistive technology, as, as was mentioned earlier. You know, all of those are reasons why many Americans choose to vote that way, and it's a great way to participate.
Catherine Shen: And with that in mind too, and as you mentioned earlier, we heard from Ellen Telker, who's with the Connecticut Council of the Blind. She described what seems to be a very complicated process for those who may need to do a lot of pre-planning before going to a polling location. So can you talk about, is there a lot of anxiety at polling locations for disabled voters?
Ben Hovland: Certainly there can be. You know that I think one of the things that our work is focused on recently has been not only looking at how we can continue to reduce the turnout gap, but also, what are some of those things, what are some of those resources that election officials could use or that we can provide? And, and we've done that through training. We've done that through research like has been mentioned with Rutgers, and then again, using that to tailor other, other resources and products to support election officials as they look to serve voters. And through that, you know, we've learned a lot of great a great information about, you know, of course, not all Americans receive information in the same way, and so while we need to look at polling places and ensure that they're accessible, you know, both the parking, the entrance, et cetera, throughout the voting process. We also have to look at things like our communications with voters and, and providing that critical information to be able to participate, and ensuring that that is accessible and that we're providing it in a number of different ways, to ensure that we're making it available to all Americans.
Catherine Shen: And quick reminder for our listeners that you can join the conversation. Let us know if you have any questions. 888-720-9677. Gonna take a quick call from Tom, who is calling with Disability Rights Connecticut. Tom, you're on the air.
Tom Cosker: Yeah, good morning, Catherine. Thanks for having me, and thanks for having this conversation. It's an important one, so. Thanks to your guests. I think a lot of the points they brought up, you know, echo, of course, the accessible machines and the completing ballots at home, et cetera. One thing I think was mentioned briefly, but I just want to highlight, is people with disabilities can bring a supporter with them to assist with voting. And I think I think it got mentioned earlier by one of your guests, but it's not something that people think, and sometimes poll workers are aware of that's, that's allowed, because they think they might, you know, be swaying them with the voting, et cetera, but people may need that supporter for a variety of reasons. So that's something that, you know, I wanted to bring up. And a couple other quick things is, there are, there is an election day hotline that you can call in if you have issues on Election Day, actually, and I can give you the number. It's 866-733-2463, and that's through the state of Connecticut. And there are other things. I mean, there's an ADA polling place checklist that a lot of polling places can use to make sure, and advocates, and we as advocates, use that to make sure that polling places are completely accessible. So anyway, just a couple of things, and I would say, the last thing I would say is on the accessible voting machine. I personally do not have a disability. I have a son, but he's not a voting age yet, but I go and I use the accessible voting machine every time I vote, one, so I know how to use it, and two, to ensure that the polling place workers, election officials are aware of it and know how to use it. And I think Stephanie brought that up in her recorded message to you guys. You know that that's getting better, which is great, but I think the more people, even without disabilities, that use those machines and make sure that they're dusted off, so to speak, and that folks know how to use them will be helpful.
Catherine Shen: Well, thank you so much for calling in and sharing all of that information with us, Tom. We appreciate it, and some of the information, including the hotline number, will be able available after the show on ctpublic.org/wherewelive for those who might want to check it out and, and get that hotline number for Election Day. And Sara, you've been listening too to this. We'd love to get, get some thoughts from you about what Tom has to share.
Sara Kempner: Tom, I'm so glad you called in, because Disability Rights is such an important asset for people with disabilities, not only in Connecticut but across the whole country. For our listeners, disability — the Disability Rights Network is the protection and advocacy agency that was mandated by Congress to make sure people with disabilities are supported with, through their legal rights, and U.S. Vote Foundation and the creation of our state by state guide for voters with disabilities that outlines, you know, all of the rights and ways of voting and who to contact when we get help. We've worked very closely with the National Disability Rights Network, Tom, so we, we are big fans of your organization. Particularly, we've worked with Michelle Bishop, who is in charge of all the voting engagement across the country. And I think it's important for the listeners to know that you, you're not alone. You know, knowing that one in six voters are in your situation, knowing that people like Tom are working behind the scenes all year long for you in Connecticut. You also have, and I think this is a wonderful asset in Connecticut, this organization called REV UP. It's through the American Association of People with Disabilities, and it's a voting engagement campaign they have. REV UP stands for register, educate, vote, use your power. REV UP. And one of the things that's so great about REV UP is it's the perfect compliment to the Disability Rights Organization, in that it helps you — whereas the Disability Rights Organization is going to help you know about your legal rights and how to find advocates, REV UP is going to help you build community. There's a lot of, you know, whether it's sometimes our towns, sometimes by county, there's all different kinds of organizations, and they have Zoom meetings and all kinds of ways of organizing to try to find strategies and support for people in the community to make sure that they cast their vote. These have been two of our greatest partners at U.S. Vote Foundation, and we really just want people to know that, that you might feel that you have these extra hurdles and you might feel alone and that you're having to try a little harder than everyone else. You may feel that you're not understood. I've seen this with people suffering from aphasia, right, where they have, it's a communication problem after having a stroke, whether it's with speaking or processing language. People are timid about voting, so having groups like this, I think, is so important.
Catherine Shen: Well, I hope from this conversation many will learn that they do have platforms and support systems that will help use their voice. Today, we're hearing from Sara Kempner, who's the director of Creative Campaigns and Collaborations at the U.S. Vote Foundation, and also from Chairman Ben Hovland from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Coming up next, we will learn how poll workers can better accommodate voters with disabilities, and if you're a voter with a disability, we want to hear from you. Let us know, how do you plan to vote this year? Give us a call. 888-720-9677, or leave us a comment on Facebook and Twitter @wherewelive.
Catherine Shen: This is Where We Live from Connecticut Public Radio, I'm Catherine Shen. This hour, we're talking about voting while disabled. Still with us is Ben Hovland, who is with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and Sara Kempner, who is with the U.S. Vote Foundation. And if you're a voter with disabilities, we would love to hear from you. Let us know what your experience has been like. Give us a call, 888-720-9677, or find us on Facebook and Twitter @wherewelive. So Sara, we've learned too that as we're discovering these support systems and accommodations for voters with disabilities, there are even some states that can rule an individual unable to vote due to mental capacity. So what does Connecticut say about this?
Sara Kempner: That's such a great question. And you know, interestingly, we don't have a national definition for what constitutes capacity, and I think it's extremely important for voters to know that in Connecticut, only a probate judge can tell you that you don't have the right to vote. So unless there has been a court order related to your disability that tells you, you can't vote, you are eligible. And sometimes people might make an assumption that they can't. Sometimes a family member, a healthcare professional, maybe, unfortunately even, I think an unlikely scenario, but a poll worker might question a person, but I think it's so important to know that. And if you have a communication disorder, you can even bring your communication device with you. Like, for example, I just interviewed someone from Lingraphica, a company that makes these devices, and they're recommending that you bring your communication device to the polls, saying, I know my rights. I know I have the right to vote. You know, I have chosen an assistant, or I do not want an assistant. I want the accessible ballot marking device. Like, you can write out the things you need, but just to be secure in that knowledge and to know that if you understand what an election is right, you you know you have the you have the right to be represented. And that also includes people who are living in residential facilities like developmental centers, state hospitals, rehabilitation centers. If you live in a congregate setting with a disability, you absolutely have the right to vote, unless a court has taken that away. So please remember that. And I think it's also important to know that you can actually request, if you don't want to do you know something with an assistant of your own or make your own request for a ballot, you can actually request to have election officials come to the congregate setting and they'll conduct the election right there for you. And let's just say that it's a day that you're not feeling well, you can ask them to come back, right so as long as you do it before election day, right before the end of the voting that day. You know, you call your local election office, you can get that set up, and remember, yyou have that very truest right to vote. In fact, I just want to say one other thing along that in although us vote Foundation, we're actually a worldwide foundation for American citizens. Like a lot of the citizens we service, are overseas voters, including Americans who have moved abroad permanently or temporarily, people in the military, you know, across the whole entire world, and voters with disabilities, live everywhere, right? And they they're in all sectors of our society. So no matter where you live like you want to remember you have the right to access that. But I think kind of just a fun fact, maybe for Connecticut residents, is our guide. For voters with disabilities, and every single state was actually just reviewed by a researcher named Carolina proctor from Connecticut. So even though we're a worldwide voting service for people, Americans anywhere, Connecticut is well represented, so you can be sure that you know we're here to support you, specifically, if you're a Connecticut voter,
Catherine Shen: Well, that's really good to hear, and always a good reminder too, that US voters are actually all around the world. Very much. Related to this, we got a question from Sherry, who's writing to us from Brooklyn, here in Connecticut, do you have to prove your disability in order to ask for the chair or bring the assistant person with you.
Sara Kempner: No.
Catherine Shen: Well, Sherry, thank you very much for that question. You got your answers, hopefully that will help you or your loved one to vote, have an easier voting process this election season and and Ben, I want to bring you back here to you know what needs to be done to further train poll workers to better accommodate those with disabilities, or really just to understand them better perhaps?
Ben Hovland: Thanks for that question. You know, I do really think, you know, it's critical that the poll workers get sufficient training to understand how to serve any of their voters. You know, we do regularly hear, you know, sometimes the we do hear stories unfortunately that the accessible equipment may not, you know, have been set up or there's less familiarity with it. The call earlier from Tom, you know, highlighted a lot of, a lot of great ways to, you know, help ensure that that's getting utilized. But you know, one of the things that it that it does make me think about, and I think is important to this conversation that we haven't hit on, you know, we are in an environment where administering elections is harder than it's ever been. It's more expensive than it's ever been. And, you know, while election officials absolutely need to do everything they can to support all of our voters, including our voters with disabilities, and making sure that people have the right to vote privately and independently. You know, we also need to support them with adequate resource. And you know, one of the things that we heard at the hearing we had earlier this summer, there used to be dedicated funding to improving accessibility in polling places or and that has we've not seen that funded in a number of years. And so while there has been flexible funding through the Help America Vote Act primarily targeted at security, and that can be used to improve federal elections in any way. So can be used for accessibility, but it's competing with so many other things. So one of the things that we heard from election officials was the need for this type of funding, for dedicated funding, so they're able to put new programs in place. You know, I think about, I think about the Election Assistance Commission we have, you know, we're a small federal agency that that many people, probably most of your listeners, haven't heard of. You know, there's been a lot of talk, actually, in this about the Help America Vote Act that created the agency at the same time, and that was Congress's response to the Florida 2000 election. And core to that legislation was accessibility, and that is core to our agency, and we've seen recent increases in funding somewhat. We still need more, but the dividends that that immediately pays, we've been able to bring on dedicated staff that focuses explicitly on improving access for voters with disabilities. We've done new research like we highlighted earlier with Rutgers. We've created new resources and training for election officials. And so all of these things matter as we look to how we continue to improve the process. And one other thing I wanted to flag that we do, we have something called the Clearinghouse awards, or CLearies. Part of our function is to be a national clearinghouse, with each state running elections a little differently, and sort of taking advantage of that. And so with the Clearies, we highlight a number of best practices around election administration, but one of those that we have is dedicated expressly for improving accessibility for voters with disabilities. And so, you know, every year we see, we see election offices who are submitting great ideas for that. You know, again, a lot of the times, these are low cost, but they make a difference for the voters in those communities. And we love to share those ideas to try to improve elections all around the country.
Catherine Shen: And Sara, we got a couple minutes here, but I do want to touch on, I know, especially with Ben just shared too, there's a lot of movement in infrastructure, or the literal process of how to make this a bit more accessible and easier for our voters who are disabled to go to the polling stations or just to vote in general. But I want to talk about disability stigma as well. That impacts accessibility and accommodations. I'm assuming those do have impact Absolutely.
Sara Kempner: That is absolutely a problem that people have encountered, and I think that's, you know, your caller who asked, do they have to identify, you know, their disability to be able to vote? And it's a private matter, right? You know? And so I think sometimes this feeling that you're going to be called out might make people self censor. In fact, I've directly worked with people with disabilities who, for that reason, chose not to vote until they realized what their rights were and that they didn't have to identify or accept assistance if they did not want it. But I do want to point out along the lines of that stigma, and to build off of what Ben just said, I think it's really important for voters who have that concern to know that election workers are really and I think I think people in general, they everyone wants you to vote right, like, know that you are supported and that there are people are who are really trying. And I think especially if you are concerned about the toll on election workers who have so much scrutiny on them right now, maybe in Connecticut, exercising that right to vote early will be really important for you this year, because if we spread out the voting and not everyone showing up just on election day, that takes a Little bit of the strain off of the election officials at the polling locations. So I think that's a great way to make sure that you have adequate time and you don't feel pressure, whether you're a poll worker or a voter or a caregiver of a person with a disability who, at this point, with Connecticut's laws, actually does not have the right to request an absentee ballot. It's not considered a valid excuse. Shockingly. I recently spoke with Ray LaMontagne from he's the chair of the Hole in the Wall Gang. We have that camp right here in Connecticut that services a lot of people with gravely ill children. And one of the things we discussed was how we need to make voting easier, not just for people with disabilities, but their caregivers as well, and to take away the stigma and provide that help.
Catherine Shen: Well, we appreciate that very much. Just want to quickly thank Sara Kempner, who's the director of creative campaigns and collaborations at the US vote Foundation. Thank you so much, Sara for educating us today about the process. Thank you for having me and also with us is Ben Hovland, who's the chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Thank you, Ben, for being with us today as well.
Ben Hovland: Thank you. It's been great, a great conversation.
Catherine Shen: To learn more about voting with a disability, you can visit our website, CTP, public.org/where, we live. I'm Catherine Shen. Today's show is produced by Tess Terrible our technical producer is Dylan Reyes. Download where we live anytime on your favorite podcast app, and thank you so much for listening.
