On June 26th, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission published a blog about their experience holding a town hall at the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. At the town hall, people with disabilities shared their experience and feedback on voting with EAC Chairman Tom Hicks and Vice Chair Christy McCormick. According to the EAC, voters shared feedback concerning:
- The power of HAVA and the need to meet its promise for voters with disabilities;
- Problems with accessing voting machines at the polling place;
- The importance of enhanced poll worker training to better assist voters with access needs;
- The significant challenges that the ever-growing use of paper ballots presents in the access community;
- A renewed focus that must be placed on helping voters with cognitive disabilities and caregivers in the voting process;
- The importance of assisting voting machine manufacturers to liaison with the disability community;
- Physical access problems at the polls, and
- A variety of other voting needs that should be met to ensure a private and independent vote.
The EAC says that it will be reviewing this feedback and any other feedback sent by voters with disabilities in the coming weeks. If you have experiences or feedback to share with the EAC, please email [email protected] with your thoughts. You can read the entire blog on the EAC’s website.
