Next week, voters with and without disabilities in the US will head to the polls for national and local elections. Many have already cast their votes using mail-in ballots or early in-person voting in their community. Regardless of how or when you vote, citizens with disabilities have the right to access ballots and voting facilities, information about voting, and the issues on the ballot per key civil rights legislations like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
If you are a voter with a disability, or a caregiver or direct support professional for someone who can vote, we gathered some resources from the NIDILRR community and elsewhere to help you participate in the voting process.
From the grantee community:
- Demystifying Civic Engagement: How to Make Your Voice Heard (Beyond Voting!) and 5 Tips to Get Started factsheet from the UMass Chan and Temple Collaborative Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Community Living and Participation Among Transition Age Youth with Serious Mental Health Conditions from Disadvantaged Backgrounds (CIRC Center).
- Voting is My Superpower! Voting Tips for People Living with Disabilities, education sheet from the Indiana Traumatic Brain Injury Model System Center, published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
- Voting Tips for People Living with Traumatic Brain Injury factsheet from the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center. Also available in Spanish.
- Voting resources from the ADA National Network:
- Access to Voting (webinar)
- Accessible Polling Places (webinar)
- ADA and Voting (2-part webinar on Tennessee’s Train the Trainer workshops)
- Ensuring Accessible Voting (blog article)
- Even more voting resources from the ADA Centers.
- If you are a voter with questions about voting access or you are an election official who needs assistance in ensuring voters with disabilities in your area can participate, contact your regional ADA Center at 800/949-4ADA (4232).
- Access to Voting (webinar)
- Why Voting Matters: Exploring Personal and Community Impact, 2-part publication from the Temple University RRTC on Community Living and Participation of Individuals with Serious Mental Illnesses.
From elsewhere in the community:
- Promoting Access to Voting: Recommendations for Addressing Barriers to Private and Independent Voting for People with Disabilities, published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology following input from the community.
- Voting Accessibility, information and resources from the Election Assistance Commission.
- Voting Resources for Older Adults and People with Disabilities from the Administration for Community Living.