AFB Research Navigator on Voters and Voting with Vision Loss
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American Foundation for the Blind logo: Expanding possibilities
Read this edition of the Research Navigator online at the following
link:
http://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=fd05f3c605&e=c97bce6fadhttp://www.afb.org/info/programs-and-services/public-policy-center/research-navigator-a-
quarterly-series-on-research-in-blindness-and-visual-impairment/research-navigator-voters-with-vision-loss-in-
the-2016-elections/1235
Today, September 27, is National Voter Registration Day!
As we approach the end of a very long campaign season and look
towards Election Day in November, this edition of the Navigator will
investigate what is known about voter registration and the voting
habits of people with vision loss. We'll look into:
* What has been the history of voting rights for people with
disabilities in and outside the U.S.?
* What is the potential size of the voting population of people
with visual impairments? How does this vary by state? Are people with
vision loss more or less likely to vote?
* What barriers to voting are experienced by people with visual
impairments?
* What accommodations are guaranteed by law to support
independent, accessible voting, and what can you do if you experience
a problem registering to vote or voting?
About This Series
Welcome to the eighth edition of AFB's Research Navigator. This is a
quarterly series - accompanying AFB's DirectConnect newsletter - from
the AFB Public Policy Center. The purpose of this series is to keep
you informed of user-friendly facts and figures and the latest
research pertaining to people with vision loss. The series will also
include the necessary background information so you may use the
information most accurately. Have an idea for a Research Navigator
topic? Want to know more about a particular statistic or line of
research? Send your thoughts to AFB's Senior Policy Researcher,
Rebecca Sheffield.
Email Rebecca at mailto:rsheffield@afb.netrsheffield@afb.net.
Readers are also encouraged to check out AFB's Statistical Snapshots
online at the following link:
http://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=a3fab1822e&e=c97bce6fadhttp://www.afb.org/stats.
This webpage is regularly updated with a wide variety of information
and tools that address commonly asked questions about people with vision loss.
A Global and Historical Introduction to the Topic
According to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral
Assistance (last updated 2010), all but four countries in the world
have some sort of system for electing government representatives at
the national level.
Read the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral
Assistance list of international voting systems at the following
link:
http://afb.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=80f2d67485&e=c97bce6fadhttp://www.idea.int/esd/world.cfm.
Since the enactment of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities - which emphasizes full and equal
participation of people with disabilities in elections - people who
are blind or visually impaired around the world have become
increasingly involved and engaged participants in civil society.
The right to vote in the United States has been around as long as
Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution and is mentioned in four separate
Constitutional amendments (15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th). While there
is not a particular Constitutional amendment about voting rights for
people with disabilities, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 allowed for
people with disabilities to receive assistance "by a person of the
voter's choice," provided that the person with a disability could not
choose his/her boss or union agent as a voting assistant. In 1984,
the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act was
enacted, mandating that older people and people with disabilities
have access to polling places while also prompting the development of
accessible voter registration sites. The 1993 National Voter
Registration Act required state agencies for people with disabilities
to provide voter registration services for people with disabilities,
and in 1991, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed,
Title II of which requires polling and voter registration places to
be accessible and emphasizes the right of all people full to and
equal voting opportunities. Furthermore, since 2002, the Help America
Vote Act has set minimum standards for the accessibility of federal
voting systems to people with visual impairments and other
disabilities. For more information, the Department of Justice
provides a thorough discussion of laws related to voting rights for
persons with disabilities at the following link:
http://afb.us11.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=f5ab2a7fe9&e=c97bce6fadhttps://www.ada.gov/ada_voting/ada_voting_ta.htm
The impact of disability voting laws continues to evolve through law
suits and court decisions, such as the 2016 law suit by the U.S.
Department of Justice against Harris County, Texas, alleging
structural barriers preventing people who use wheel chairs from
accessing polling sites. Also in 2016, the National Federation of the
Blind (NFB) and Disability Rights Ohio won a lawsuit against the
Secretary of State of Ohio, finding that Ohio's practice of only
providing absentee ballots in print violated the ADA's guarantee of
equal voting opportunity. NFB, the American Civil Liberties Union,
and Disability Rights Advocates brought suit earlier this year
against the New York State Board of Elections and Department of Motor
Vehicles alleging inaccessibility of online voter registration. Visit
the following links to read about these cases:
* Harris County, Texas, link:
http://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=26e593ae5e&e=c97bce6fadhttps://www.texastribune.org/2016/08/04/harris-county-violated-disability-law-
polling-plac/
* Ohio, link:
http://afb.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=4ed926fc4a&e=c97bce6fadhttps://thinkprogress.org/federal-judge-ohios-absentee-voting-
system-violates-rights-of-blind-residents-e2f47855e1c2#.u0qag1z1r
* New York,
link:http://afb.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=bc86641578&e=c97bce6fadhttps://www.aclu.org/news/groups-sue-new-york-over-inaccessible-online-voter-
registration-people-disabilities
Numbers: How many voters are we talking about?
Given that the United States has only relatively recently focused on
equal voting rights for people with disabilities, and seeing that the
courts continue to work out the enforcement and interpretation of
these protections, what do we know about the rates at which people
with vision loss are actually registering and turning out to vote?
Schur & Krus (2016) from Rutgers University recently released a
report projecting the number of eligible voters with disabilities.
They based their data on Census Bureau population projections as well
as disability data from the American Community Survey.
Read a brief description of the American Community Survey from AFB's
Statistical Snapshots at the following link:
http://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=214a319911&e=c97bce6fadhttp://www.afb.org/info/living-with-vision-loss/blindness-statistics/a-resource-
guide-to-disability-statistics/125#ACS.
Schur and Krus' report has received considerable media attention
including stories from USA Today and New York's Times Union.
Read the USA Today article at the following link:
http://afb.us11.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=8b7ca5ff37&e=c97bce6fadhttp://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/08/12/voters-
disabilities-outnumber-black-latino-voters-study/88628272/
Read the Times Union article at the following link:
http://afb.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=f3f00a3fbd&e=c97bce6fadhttp://www.timesunion.com/local/article/For-disabled-voters-strength-in-numbers-brings-
9204295.php
Some key findings include:
* The authors estimate that there will be 35.4 million eligible
voters with disabilities in November, 2016 - that's nearly one in six
eligible voters.
* This estimated total number of voters with disabilities is an
increase of 10.8% over 2008, while the population of eligible voters
without disabilities has only increased 8.5%
* More than 25% of the electorate in November will either have a
disability or have a household member with a disability.
* A projected 6.3 million eligible voters will have visual
impairments! This number was 5.9 million in 2008 and 5.7 million in 2012.
Although it seems natural to assume that these projections and
increases are related to the aging population, we should not overlook
that there will actually be more eligible voters with disabilities
under age 65 than over age 65.
Just a few days ago (September 22), the Pew Research Center released
another report about voters with disabilities (Igielnik, 2016).
Instead of working with Census data, the Pew Center conducted their
own survey titled the American Trends Panel. They found that 22% of
Americans self- report living with a disability; however, it should
be noted that this survey was conducted via the internet and the mail
and thus might underrepresent people with vision loss.
Voter Interest & Voter Registration
According to both Schur, Adya, and Kruse (2013) and the Pew Research
Center (Igielnik, 2016), people with disabilities report being more
likely than people without disabilities to be interested in the
election or involved in politics. This makes sense - policies and
government officials can have a huge impact on the lives of people
with disabilities! Pew Center research (Igielnik, 2016) suggested
that the overlap between aging and disability contributes to the the
higher rates of political interest among people with disabilities.
People with disabilities are, on average, older than people without
disabilities, and older people tend to follow political issues more
closely than younger people. Additionally, people with disabilities
are less likely to report missing voter registration deadlines or not
being eligible to vote (Schur, Adya, & Kruse).
Rocking the Vote
Do voters with vision loss favor different candidates and policies
than other voters? The answer is not completely clear. The Pew
Research Center (Igielnik, 2016) found that the political preferences
of people with disabilities are similar to those of the general
public, and this similarity holds true if we consider just those
people with and without disabilities who are actually registered
voters. The Pew researchers found that 42% of people with
disabilities lean Republican (43% of people without disabilities),
and 50% of people with disabilities lean Democratic (52% of people
without disabilities). As of the time of the Pew Center's survey
(August-September, 2016), 40% of people with disabilities said they
would vote for Donald Trump (38% of people without disabilities), and
47% of people with disabilities said they would vote for Hillary
Clinton (45% of people without disabilities). People with
disabilities were less likely to report a preference for one of the
third-party candidates. It is important to note that the Pew Center
did not report margins of error for these data. Also, these data have
not been reported specifically for people with vision loss, nor have
researchers looked into potential state and regional variations
(where smaller differences in voter trends can have larger impacts).
Barriers to Registration
Research from the Pew Center suggests that there is little difference
in voter registration rates between people with and without
disabilities (80% of people with disabilities report being registered
vs. 84% of people without disabilities). Surprisingly, Schur, Adya,
and Kruse (2013) found that almost a quarter of people with
disabilities who were not registered to vote cited their disability
as the reason for not being registered! While there are certain rare
and controversial legal circumstances where state laws allow a judge
to determine that a person with a mental/developmental disability is
unable to vote - readthe Bazelon Center's document State Laws
Affecting the Voting Rights of People with Mental Disabilities - a
disability in itself should not be a legal impediment to voting.
Read the Bazelon Center's report (PDF) at the following link:
http://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=d7718fa7c6&e=c97bce6fadhttp://www.bazelon.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=-Hs7F_Ohfgg
%3D&tabid=543
What about voter turnout?
Turnout this year will depend on many factors including
get-out-the-vote efforts as well as barriers and accessibility
concerns. In their most recent report, Schur & Krus reported that
voter turnout in 2012 was 5.7% lower for people with disabilities
than for people without disabilities. Looking deeper, these
researchers analyzed results from their own survey as well as the
Census Bureau's November 2012 voter supplement (part of the Bureau of
Labor Statistics Current Population Survey fielded during November
following each national election).
Read a breif description of the Current Population Survey from AFB's
Statistical Snapshots site at the following link:
http://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=c20ddf3730&e=c97bce6fadhttp://www.afb.org/info/living-with-vision-loss/blindness-statistics/a-resource-
guide-to-disability-statistics/125#CPS
They found:
* For people with vision difficulty (Census Bureau's definition -
"blind or serious trouble seeing even when wearing glasses or
contacts"), 57% of eligible voters voted in 2008, 40% in 2010, and
57% in 2012. For voters without disabilities, the rates were 65% in
2008, 46% in 2010, and 63% in 2012. Thus, if people with vision loss
had voted at the same rate as people without visual impairments in
2012, they would have increased voter turnout by over 200,000 people!
That's a lot of people when you consider that the Presidential vote
in Florida was decided by fewer than 75,000 votes!
* Employment levels the playing field. People who are employed
are equally likely to vote, whether or not they have a disability.
* Voter registration for people with disabilities is somewhat
lower than for people without disabilities - and if you aren't
registered, you can't vote! (However, this only explains part of the
lower turnout for voters with disabilities).
* More than one in four voters with disabilities chose to vote
absentee or by mail in 2012 (the rate for people without disabilities
is closer to one in six). Looking specifically at voters with visual
impairment, 27% voted by mail, and 15% voted early in 2012.
Although it would be very helpful to know the variations in voter
turnout by state for people with vision loss, the fact that the voter
turnout data is based on a single monthly issuance of the Census
Bureau's
http://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=001c850887&e=c97bce6fadCurrent
Population Survey means that the sample size is much too small to
make reliable estimates about state voting rates for a small
sub-population. However, estimates are a bit stronger when we look at
the entire population of people with disabilities. Schur, Adya, &
Kruse (2013) found:
* Relative to the turnout rate for voters without disabilities,
Delaware had the strongest turnout rate for people with disabilities:
71% for people with disabilities versus 67% for people without.
Alaska, Florida, Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and
Wyoming also saw higher voter turnout for people with disabilities
than for people without disabilities.
* The lowest turnout rate for voters with disabilities versus
voters without was in Maine (where the voting rate was 15% lower for
people with disabilities than people without). Connecticut, Kentucky,
Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Washington,
D.C. all had double-digit gaps in the difference in turnout
percentages for people with and without disabilities.
* In sheer percentage turnout for people with disabilities,
Delaware lead the way with 71% turnout, and West Virginia was
furthest behind with only 43% turnout.
Barriers to Voting
Schur, Adya, & Kruse (2013) found that people with disabilities were
35% more likely than people without to report that illness or
disability (their own or a family member's) kept them from voting.
Transportation was another barrier, with people with disabilities 3%
more likely to report being kept from the polls by transportation
problems. However, people with disabilities were 17% less likely to
report being too busy, 7% less likely to be out of town or away from
home and unable to vote, and 2% less likely to report forgetting to vote.
According to Schur, Adya, & Kruse (2013), at the polling place,
difficulty reading or seeing the ballot was the most reported concern
by with disabilities - regardless of the type of disability. Among
people with visual impairments, 22% said that they had difficulty
reading or seeing the ballot. Additionally, 15% had difficulty
understanding how to vote or use the voting equipment, and 11% had
difficulty finding or getting to the polling place. Also significant,
3% of people with visual impairments had difficulty getting inside
their polling place, and 3% had difficulty writing on the ballot. In
all, 44% of people with vision loss reported some difficulty in the
polling place; nevertheless, 72% found voting to be "very easy" (by
comparison, 86% of voters without disabilities reported that voting
was very easy.)
In the voting booth, 30% of people with disabilities needed
assistance, most often from an election official (42%) or family
member (42%). Seven percent of people with disabilities used
assistive devices, with an enlarged display being most common (58%)
followed by a magnifier or visual aid (33%). On three out of four
occasions, the voters found that the devices they needed were set up
and ready to go at their polling station, and 97% of the time the
election officials knew how to set up and use the tools.
In their preference for where to vote in the future, voters with
visual impairments were more likely than people with disabilities in
general and just as likely as people without disabilities to prefer
to vote in person at their polling place (68% for people with visual
impairment; 68% for people without disability, versus 58% for people
with disabilities in general) (Schur, Adya, & Kruse, 2013). Voters
with vision loss were less likely than people without disabilities to
prefer voting online.
Let's Go Vote!
VisionAware blogger DeAnna Quietwater Noriega wrote "Democracy isn't
simple or easy. We can use our power at the polls to elect people we
believe will represent our values... If we opt out of participating,
then others who may hold opinions different from ours will decide
outcomes. Living in a democracy means taking our responsibilities
seriously to be an active part of the process." Be sure to read
DeAnna's heartfelt blog post on VisionAware at the following link:
http://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=0a8ccb4b43&e=c97bce6fadhttp://www.visionaware.org/blog/visionaware-blog/voting-and-self-advocacy-theyre-
intertwined-by-deanna-quietwater-noriega/12.
Equipped with the knowledge of laws and the potential impact of
voters in the disability community (which outnumbers eligible African
American voters and eligible Latino voters), people with vision loss
can have the greatest impact when everyone takes action, registers,
and votes - whether voting early, absentee, or on Election Day, November 8th!
One easy place to get registered is at the following link:
http://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=e541a529ae&e=c97bce6fadhttp://www.vote.org
- which includes options for registering, verifying your
registration, and requesting an absentee ballot. Another good way to
verify your voter registration is to call your state's Secretary of
State's office (you can also call this office to request an
application by mail or to ask voting-related questions).
The Help America Vote Act instituted Protection and Advocacy for
Voter Access efforts (PAVAs) in every state. A PAVA:
* "Educates voters, election workers, and other persons involved
in the voting process about the rights of people with disabilities.
* Provides information to people with disabilities about voter
registration and the chance to register to vote.
* Provides advice about access to polling places on Election Day.
* Works with groups representing people with disabilities and
other organizations in registering voters and surveying polling
places for accessibility.
* Represents/advocates for individuals with disabilities who have
complaints about the voting process" (AAPD, 2016).
Find out more by contacting the Protection and Advocacy agency in
your state at the following link:
http://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=07f8f62d34&e=c97bce6fadhttp://www.ndrn.org/en/ndrn-member-
agencies.html.
The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) has
organized the "REV UP" (Register, Educate, Vote, and Use your Power)
effort to get out the vote among people with disabilities. Their
website, which provides helpful links for national and state
resources, can be accessed at the following link:
http://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=2b1845cdbe&e=c97bce6fadhttp://www.aapd.com/our-focus/voting/.
The REV UP toolkit (which can be customized by state) includes the
following reminders of voting rights and accommodations:
When registering to vote, it is good to know:
* Check voter registration and voting requirements and deadlines
for your state at the following link from USA.gov:
http://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=96905ea2ce&e=c97bce6fadhttps://www.usa.gov/how-to-vote
* Offices that have voter registration forms must also offer to
help you complete the forms, unless you refuse assistance
* Political parties, activist groups, and private citizens can
give out application forms. If they do, they must help you register,
too, whether or not you agree with their politics or point of view.
* If an agency is providing you with services in your home, and
if they offer voter registration services, they must provide those
voter registration services at your home.
* If you reside somewhere else that is not in the same county as
your permanent address, you can register to vote by mail in the
county where your permanent address is. Then you can vote with an
absentee ballot.
In any election for a federal office, you have the right:
* to vote privately and independently.
* to get help from a person of your choice or an election worker,
except that you cannot be assisted by an agent of your employer or
union or a candidate for office.
* to a physically accessible polling place, including accessible
parking and the use of an accessible voting machine.
* to have sample ballots in alternative format.
* to go back and make corrections if you make a mistake before
submitting your ballot.
In some states - like Virginia - early in-person voting is only
available to people who meet certain qualifying criteria. Often,
having a disability is a qualifying rationale for voting early. This
option could save you lots of time! In some cases, you can even
register to vote and vote early, all in one visit! Check with your
local election office for more details.
If you vote using an absentee ballot:
* You have a right to an accessible ballot.
* Be sure to verify that you have requested your ballot before
your state's deadline.
* Be sure to verify that you have returned your ballot on time
and following the instructions.
If voting in person (early or on election day), you might want to bring:
* headphones to hear your ballot,
* photo identification (check the laws for your state),
* a hand-held magnifier (if you typically use one), and/or
* a trusted sighted assistant (if you prefer to vote with assistance).
Curious about voting with an accessible machine? Read about
VisionAware blogger Empish Thomas' first voting experience with an
accessible voting machine at the following link:
http://afb.us11.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=438f393ebe&e=c97bce6fadhttp://www.visionaware.org/blog/visionaware-blog/guest-blogger-empish-thomas-
voting-as-a-blind-person-with-privacy-and-independence/12
(spoiler alert - getting access to the machine first required a lot
of self-advocacy!)
If you experience a problem at the polls:
* Talk to the head election judge. If he/she cannot fix it, ask
him/her to contact a city/county election official. If that doesn't
work, call 866-OUR-VOTE (a voter helpline service from the
nonpartisan Election Protection Coalition). Spanish-
speaking/bilingual voters may wish to call 888-Ve-Y-Vota, and Asian
language speaking voters can call 888-API-VOTE.
* If your complaint is not resolved, file a written complaint
before leaving your polling place.
* You may also submit a complaint to the Department of Justice
Voting section:
* By email to
mailto:voting.section@usdoj.govvoting.section@usdoj.gov
* By telephone at (800) 253-3931 (toll free), or (202) 307-2767
* By fax at (202) 307-3961
* By complaint form at the following link:
http://afb.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=5744589146&e=c97bce6fadhttp://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/i
ndex.php
* By letter to this address:
* Civil Rights Division
* U.S. Department of Justice
* Room 7254 - NWB
* 950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
* Washington, DC 20530
One final thought as you head off to the polls: Noted disability
rights advocate Justin Dart once said, "Vote like your life depends
on it - because it does!" At AFB, we want to encourage you to
exercise this valuable right, no matter who you vote for. We wish you
the best of luck! Here's hoping that in 2016, voter participation
rates for people with vision loss are through the roof, evidence of
our community's passion, power, and participation!
Want to tell us about your voting experience? Send an email to
mailto:visionaware@afb.netvisionaware@afb.net
Please subscribe to the DirectConnect Newsletter to stay informed
about the new National Agenda on Vision and Aging (as well as to
receive the quarterly Navigator and other important updates from the
AFB Policy Center). To subscribe, go to
http://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=87151fb244&e=c97bce6fadhttp://www.afb.org/myafb.aspx
and login in (if you have logged in before) or follow the link to
"become a member" to create a newsletter account. Once you have an
account and are logged in, follow the link to "Newsletters," check
the box next to AFB DirectConnect, and click submit!
References
American Association of People with Disabilities [AAPD]. (2016). REV
UP toolkit - Template (word). Retrieved from
http://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=911bcba4d7&e=c97bce6fadhttp://www.aapd.com/our-focus/voting/rev-up-images-and-toolkits/
Igielnik, R. (2016, September 22). A political profile of disabled
Americans. Election 2016. Retrieved from
http://afb.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=d258b4ce2a&e=c97bce6fadhttp://www.pewresearch.org
/fact-tank/2016/09/22/a-political-profile-of-disabled-americans/?
utm_content=buffera556f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Schur, L., Adya, M., & Kruse, D. (2013, July 18). Disability, voter
turnout, and voting difficulties in the 2012 elections. Retrieved
from
http://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=fe5e77f011&e=c97bce6fadhttp://smlr.rutgers.edu/content/disability-and-voter-turnout
Schur, L. & Kruse, D. (2016, August 12). Projecting the number of
eligible voters with disabilities in the November 2016
electionshttp://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=b16b302ed7&e=c97bce6fad.
Retrieved from
http://afb.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd3c8fefc9f905f5ccf41c577&id=4ca00f6aef&e=c97bce6fadhttp://smlr.rutgers.edu/content/disability-and-voter-turnout