Twenty-six national disability rights organizations, including Little People of America, are deeply concerned over the paper ballot mandate included in the For the People Act of 2021 (H.R. 1/S. 1). The bill addresses many barriers to voting in America, but mandates the use of paper ballots in both in-person and remote voting, which undermines the goals of the bill by restricting access for many voters with disabilities.
Any mandate of a paper-based voting system will inevitably harm voters with print disabilities as it would:
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(1) end all voting system innovation and advancement to produce a fully accessible voting system that provides enhanced security;
(2) limit voters with disabilities’ federal right to privately and independently verify and cast their ballots, and;
(3) prohibit digital voting which allows voters to read, mark, verify, and return their ballot completely electronically.
Although paper-based ballot voting options have become the preferred voting system to people who believe mandating the use of paper ballots is necessary to ensure the security of elections, it must be made abundantly clear that the ability to privately and independently hand mark, verify, and cast a paper ballot is impossible for many voters with print disabilities.
On March 11, 2021, the United States House of Representatives passed the For the People Act, and the legislation is now being considered in the U.S. Senate. In late March, the Senate held its first hearing on the bill and prior to the Senate’s May markup, national disability organizations once again outlined their concerns and offered necessary improvements and changes to the bill’s paper ballot mandate. Unfortunately, the fears of disability advocates on how the paper mandate will impact voters with print disabilities have not been addressed and only minimal changes have been made to the mandate to protect the rights of voters with disabilities.
The National Disability Rights Network urges Congress to make changes to the For the People Act to exclude voters with disabilities, covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, from having to use a voter-verified paper ballot for both in-person and remote voting. Until fully accessible paper-ballot voting systems are available and ready for widespread use, accessible in-person and vote-by-mail voting options must be offered to ensure all voters in America can receive, mark, verify, and cast a private and independent ballot. The For the People Act cannot eliminate the only accessible voting options for many voters with disabilities, such as Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines and electronic absentee or vote-by-mail systems.
Although For the People Act includes some provisions to improve voter access for voters with disabilities, such as ensuring that drop boxes are fully accessible, these advances don’t mitigate the unintended consequence of the paper ballot mandate. Simply put, the current paper ballot mandate will exclude many voters from the ballot box, counteracting the purpose of this well-intended and important legislation.
Before paper-based voting systems become the law of the land, the concerns of voters with disabilities must be addressed.
Share this concern with your Senator today.
This post is a condensed version of “Disability Advocates Warn the For the People Act’s PaperBallot Mandate Will Disenfranchise Voters with Disabilities.” National Disability Rights Network. June 15, 2021. https://www.ndrn.org/resource/disability-advocates-warn-the-for-the-people-acts-paper-ballot-mandate-will-disenfranchise-voters-with-disabilities/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=1fbfcf73-7460-4276-a9cc-2e18b815bfe5.