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Independent Living News & Policy from the National Council on Independent Living

Pew Charitable Trusts Covers Voter Access for People with Disabilities

Kathy Hoell sits in her wheelchair in front of a cameraman. A woman walks to her right.In a February article entitled “How Voters with Disabilities are Blocked From the Ballot Box,” Pew Charitable Trusts interviewed several NCIL Voting Rights Subcommittee members about accessibility at the polls for people with disabilities, including Kathy Hoell, cochair of the subcommittee, and Michelle Bishop, Voting Rights Advocate at National Disability Rights Network. The piece discusses many of the common barriers to voting for people with disabilities, including poll worker training, physical accessibility, and problems with the setup of the accessible machine. It also profiles West Virginia’s challenge with the gap between voters with and without disabilities, and Colorado’s successes in voting access. Thank you to Michelle and Kathy for their continued voting rights advocacy!