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((Multiple issues|
((Essay-like|article|date=February 2020))
((Context|date=March 2023))
))
((See also|Timeline of disability rights in the United States))

According to Abilities United, over 16% of Americans are considered to have either a physical, developmental, or learning [[disability]].<ref name="Voters with Disabilities">((cite web|title=It's 2014, But It's Still Difficult For People With Disabilities To Vote|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/04/voters-with-disabilities_n_6102132.html |last=Bellware|first=Kim|date=4 November 2014|website=[[HuffPost]]))</ref> The barriers that 33.7 million persons with disabilities face within the American electoral process include: access to polling information, physical access to polls, current and future laws that deal with the topic, and the moral implications regarding the varying levels of both physical and cognitive disabilities and the act of voting.<ref name=voting>((cite web|url=http://www.accessiblesociety.org/topics/voting/ |title=People with Disabilities and Voting |website=The Center for an Accessible Society |date= |accessdate=2015-10-28))</ref> ((Disability))

==Political engagement==
Multiple sources report that persons with disabilities comprise one of the most disenfranchised groups within American society.<ref name="usatoday1">((cite web|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-08-09/disabled-voters-lack-access-motivation/56922154/1 |title=Study shows voters with disabilities face access barriers |website=USATODAY.com |last=Korte |first=Gregory |date=10 August 2012 |accessdate=2015-10-28))</ref> As a result, Americans with both physical and cognitive disabilities are amongst the least politically engaged members of the electorate. For example, during the 2012 election cycle, 11% fewer residents with disabilities turned out to vote than nondisabled Americans.<ref name="usatoday1"/> According to a 2013 report written by Rutgers University professor Lisa Schur, as many as three million more citizens with disabilities would have turned out to vote had they voted at the same rate as non-disabled citizens.<ref name="Voters with Disabilities"/>

==Accessibility to polls==

[[Voter identification laws in the United States|Voter identification laws]] greatly impact accessibility to polls for those with disabilities. As the largest population of citizens without drivers licenses, persons with both physical and cognitive disabilities face the obstacle of strict identification laws at polling places within some states.<ref name="Voters with Disabilities"/> Within stricter states (see photo below), many disabled persons who do not have physical identification cards are required to submit absentee ballots.<ref>((cite news|title=This is what it's like to try to get a Voter ID when you're disabled, poor or don't drive|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/10/29/this-is-what-its-like-to-try-to-get-a-voter-id-when-youre-disabled-poor-or-dont-drive/|last=Badger|first=Emily|date=29 October 2014|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]))</ref> The [[National Conference of State Legislatures]] (NCSL) provides a web page with ID requirements for voting in each state, and those with the strictest requirements often present the largest challenges to disabled Americans.<ref name=ncsl-2013>((cite web |url=http://www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/elections/voter-id.aspx |website=National Conference of State Legislatures |date=October 21, 2014 |title=Voter ID: State Requirements))</ref>
[[File:ID Required.svg|thumb|400px|
((legend|#900|Strict photo ID (9 states)))
((legend|#f00|Photo ID (non-Strict) (8 states)))
((legend|#cc5500|Strict non-photo ID required (3 states)))
((legend|#c93|Non-photo ID required (non strict) (13 states)))
((legend|#888|No ID required to vote at ballot box (17 states)))]]

Many polling places are considered to be nearly entirely inaccessible to persons with disabilities. Within the past several years, the [[Federal Election Commission]] has reported that more than 20,000 polling places across the nation are not fully accessible for disabled individuals. In 1999, the New York Attorney General stated that fewer than 10% of upstate polling facilities were fully compliant with state and federal laws.<ref name = voting/> A leading theory that attempts to explain the lack of political engagement within disabled communities deals primarily with physical access to polling places. The failure to comply with state and federal laws can manifest itself in many ways, but typically results in a lack of functional wheelchair ramps, sparse placement of accessible entrance signs, and generally inaccessible physical voting booths.<ref name="usatoday1"/> As a result, resources and physical aides such as [[Help America Vote Act]]-mandated voting machines are utilized for federal elections and aim to assist persons with disabilities.<ref name="Voters with Disabilities"/>

One of the most popularly utilized methods of combatting these problems in recent years has exhibited itself in the utilization of electronic voting machines. Because "punch card" and "lever" voting machines are often inaccessible to many parts of the disabled community, [[adaptive technology]] has been applied to many traditional devices, and many different kinds of accessible machines have been developed. Legislation like the [[Help America Vote Act]] has required that at least one accessible machine be available at each polling place.<ref>((cite web|title=Accessibility and Auditability in Electronic Voting|url=https://www.eff.org/wp/accessibility-and-auditability-electronic-voting|date=17 May 2004|website=Electronic Frontier Foundation))</ref> [[File:Head-wand.jpg|thumb|This voter with a [[manual dexterity]] disability is making choices on a [[touchscreen]] with a head dauber. This is an example of [[adaptive technology]] in use.]]

((See also|Electronic Voting))

==Contemporary laws protecting suffrage for people with disabilities==

Both state and federal legislatures have enacted thousands of pages of legislation regarding the rights of Americans with disabilities. Several major "landmark" pieces of legislation have served as models.

=== Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act ===

#Passed into law in 1984, the [[Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act]] requires polling places to ensure accessibility for all disabled persons during federal elections.<ref name="ada.gov">((cite web|title=A Guide to Disability Rights Laws|url=http://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm#anchor64292|date=July 2009|website=Americans with Disabilities Act|publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]]))</ref>

((Infobox U.S. legislation
| shorttitle= Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
| othershorttitles=ADA
| longtitle= An act to establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability
| colloquialacronym= ADA
| enacted by= 101st
| effective date= July 26, 1990))

=== Americans with Disabilities Act ===
Passed into law in 1990, the [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990]] (or ADA) is widely considered to be the first major attempt to define the rights of disabled Americans at a federal level. Signed into law by President [[George H. W. Bush]], the act prohibits discrimination based on disability. The [[United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division|U.S DOJ Civil Rights Division]] phrases the right to access to the polls, as well as the right to register to vote, in these terms: "(the ADA) safeguards the voting rights of a person with a disability."<ref>((cite web | url=https://www.ada.gov/topics/voting/#other-federal-laws-that-protect-the-rights-of-voters-with-disabilities | title=Voting and Polling Places | date=15 February 2024 ))</ref> 

Though the ADA is wide-ranging in scope, it has had many lasting effects on the suffrage of disabled Americans. Some of the most prominent changes that resulted from the legislation included calls for accessibility within polling stations. This effort to increase accessibility has led to the establishment of mandatory accessible parking, passenger drop off areas, and building entrances at polling places. <ref>((cite web|title=ADA Checklist for Polling Places|url=http://www.ada.gov/votingchecklist.htm|website=Americans with Disabilities Act|publisher=United States Department of Justice))</ref> However, according to some advocates, the Act itself has not been the "silver bullet" many hoped it would be, and leaves many disabled persons open to ongoing persecution.<ref>((cite web | url=https://www.dakc.us/aak/why-the-ada-isnt-enough/ | title=Why the ADA Isn't Enough &#124; Disability Advocates | date=17 March 2021 ))</ref>

((listen
|title=Remarks on the Signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (July 26, 1990)
|filename=George HW Bush Americans with Disabilities Act.ogg
|description =[[George H. W. Bush]]'s July 26, 1990 Remarks on the Signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act
| format = [[Ogg]]
| type = speech
))

=== Help America Vote Act ===
Passed into law in 2002, the [[Help America Vote Act]] (HAVA) creates "mandatory minimum standards for states to follow in several key areas of election administration."<ref name="Help America Vote Act">((cite web|title=Help America Vote Act|url=http://www.eac.gov/about_the_eac/help_america_vote_act.aspx|website=U.S. Election Assistance Commission))</ref> Passing both federal legislatures with bipartisan support, the Act authorized the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make polling places accessible to persons with disabilities. The legislation has a particularly sharp focus on individuals affected by visual impairments, and requires each polling station to have to at least one disability-accessible voting machine per federal election.<ref name="Help America Vote Act" /> The Act has three main goals:<ref name="Help America Vote Act" /> replace punch-card and lever based voting systems, establish the [[Election Assistance Commission]] in order to assist with the administration of federal elections, and establish minimum federal election standards

Critics of the Act claim that it's reach should be expanded to more than solely federal elections. While states receive funding for disability-accessible touchscreen electronic voting machines under HAVA, municipalities such as cities and towns do not directly receive funding. As a result, critics claim that the machines are not evenly distributed.<ref>((cite web|last=Armstrong|first=Michael|url=http://homernews.com/homer-news/local-news/2015-10-29/blind-man-files-rights-complaint|title=Blind man files rights complaint|date=29 October 2015|website=Homer News))</ref>

=== National Voter Registration Act ===
The [[National Voter Registration Act of 1993]] attempted to increase the historically low registration rates of minorities and persons with disabilities by requiring both federal and state agencies to assist in voter registration procedures.<ref name="ada.gov" />

=== Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act ===
Passed into law in 1980, the [[Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act]] protects the rights of persons in jails, publicly operated nursing homes, and institutions for people with psychiatric or developmental disabilities.<ref name="ada.gov" />

=== Voting Rights Act ===
Originally passed into law in 1965 to combat racial discrimination at polling places, the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]] has recently supported advances of disabled suffrage. Section 208 of the Act allows citizens affected by "blindness, disability, or the inability to read or write" to assign an individual to help cast votes within a ballot box.<ref name="Voting Rights Act">((cite web|title=Statutes Enforced By The Voting Section|url=https://www.justice.gov/crt/statutes-enforced-voting-section|website=United States Department of Justice|date=6 August 2015 ))</ref> Restrictions on the assignment of said individual include the voter's employer or agent of their union.<ref name="Voting Rights Act" />

==Contemporary laws restricting suffrage for people with disabilities==
In some states, people who are deemed [[mentally incompetent]] are not allowed to vote.<ref name="dis1">((cite news|last1=Leonard|first1=Kimberly|title=Keeping the 'Mentally Incompetent' From Voting|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/10/keeping-the-mentally-incompetent-from-voting/263748/|accessdate=29 May 2018|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=17 October 2012))</ref><ref>((cite news |last1=Pan |first1=Deanna |title=Protecting the Voting Rights Of People With Mental Disabilities |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/11/voting-rights-mental-disabilities/ |accessdate=16 July 2018 |work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]] |date=5 November 2012))</ref> In the [[conservatorship]] process, people can lose their right to vote.<ref name="dis2">((cite news|last=Vasilogambros|first=Matt|title=Thousands Lose Right To Vote Under 'Incompetence' Laws|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/thousands-lose-right-to-vote-under-incompetence-laws_us_5ab25f7ce4b004fe24699810|work=HuffPost|accessdate=29 May 2018|date=21 March 2018))</ref>

==See also==
* [[Voting rights in the United States]]
* [[Disability rights movement]]

==References==
((reflist))

[[Category:History of voting rights in the United States]]
[[Category:Disability in the United States]]
[[Category:History of disability]]
[[Category:Disability rights]]

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