If you're a voter with disabilities in Wisconsin, here's what you should know

Nuha Dolby
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The coronavirus pandemic has created barriers for many voters, and voters with disabilities are no exception.

They make up a sizable portion of the voting population — approximately 23% of the electorate this year will be voters with disabilities, according to the American Association of People with Disabilities. 

They're also voters who statistically get left behind. Rutgers University's Fact Sheet on Disability and Voter Turnout in the 2018 Elections found a 10.4% gap in Wisconsin voter turnout between citizens with and without disabilities.

In Wisconsin, voters with disabilities have options. There are accommodations, hotlines and other resources available for them to make sure their votes count.

There are accommodations for voters who cannot enter a polling place

Barbara Beckert with Disability Rights Wisconsin said voters with disabilities can request a multitude of accommodations at polling places.

Voters who cannot enter a polling place because of a disability, being immunocompromised or showing symptoms of COVID-19 are eligible for curbside voting, said Beckert, the nonprofit group's director of external advocacy for Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin.

Poll workers will bring a ballot to the voter and conduct voting at their vehicle or at the entrance of the polling location.

Proof of residency must be provided if a voter is not registered, and proof of identification is required.

In Milwaukee, voters can call 414-286-3963 for assistance.

Voters who need help with ballots also have options

If a voter needs help marking their ballot, they are entitled to bring someone to assist them. That person does not need to be qualified to vote themselves.

The assister cannot be an employer or union representative, however. Co-workers are allowed, so long as they have no legal empowerment to act on behalf of the employer.

The voter can also request assistance from a poll worker.

If a voter inside a polling location cannot sign a poll list due to a physical disability, they can inform a poll worker. The poll worker will write "exempt by order of inspectors"  in the signature space on the poll list.

Poll workers may ask a voter to speak their name and address. If a voter's disability prevents them from doing so, they are legally entitled to instead have a poll worker or an assister state that information before receiving a ballot.

Voters with disabilities may provide that information in writing to poll workers or assisters.

Every voting site will have accessible polling machines on Election Day

Accessible polling machines will be present, by law, at every polling location on Election Day.

Those machines are set up such that voters who use wheelchairs will be able to reach the controls. There's also an audio setting for voters with visual impairments.

The law, however, does not require these machines to be present during early voting.

What about voters who live in nursing homes or assisted care facilities?

During a typical election, special voting deputies from the municipal clerk's office would visit nursing homes and other care facilities to assist voters.

But because of the pandemic, the Wisconsin Elections Commission determined those deputies were "non-essential" and were subsequently prohibited from visiting facilities for both the August and November election.

As a result, municipal clerks were directed to mail absentee ballots to the residents of such facilities who wanted them.

However, this could inadvertently limit how many residents vote, because when special voting deputies come to nursing homes, any resident who is registered to vote can get a ballot, whether they thought about it previously or otherwise.

But people have to request absentee ballots, so that spur-of-the-moment decision to vote is no longer applicable.

Beckert said voters in those facilities still have the right to vote, and staff at those locations should assist voters with their ballots if needed.

Voters may need to ask about accommodations

Because many poll workers are new this year, some aren't aware of accommodations that voters with disabilities are legally entitled to, Beckert said. So there's a renewed importance for voters to be aware of their rights.

Voters with disabilities should speak to the chief inspector at their polling place if they need additional accommodations.

If voters with disabilities experience a voters rights or accessibility issue, they can report it to the chief inspector at their polling location. They can also report the concern to the Wisconsin Elections Commission at https://elections.wi.gov/form/accessibility-complaint.

If voters with disabilities need additional assistance, they can call Disability Rights Wisconsin's Voter Hotline at (844) DIS-VOTE. 

Advocates say there's more to be done to ensure people are able to vote

Beckert said that there's still room for improvement when it comes to making sure people with disabilities can vote.

Because of the pandemic, many Wisconsinites are choosing to vote absentee or early in-person, and voters with disabilities are no exception. But because voting absentee is new to them, she said, it's tough.

"It can be challenging for any voter. But because a lot of individuals with disabilities are lower income, and may also need assistive technology, there's some challenges relating to having access to the computer and internet tools that people are relying on a lot to get information on voting," Beckert said. "And if they have [access], they may struggle with some of the specifics because of their disabilities."

A September 2020 audit by Deque Systems found 43 states, Wisconsin included, had vote-by-mail applications that were not accessible to many voters with disabilities. 

Beckert said one solution could be introducing a legally mandated accessible absentee ballot. These ballots, Beckert said, allow voters who are visually impaired or have another disability to use at-home technology. The ballots can be emailed to voters, who then complete them online, and send them back electronically or printed out. 

Beckert said because Wisconsin's system isn't truly accessible, Disability Rights Wisconsin has heard from voters with disabilities that they've been forced to ask others for assistance filling out their absentee ballots.

And sometimes, voters don't want to risk someone else filling out their ballot, especially if their disability prevents them from verifying the ballot was filled out to their specifications.

"I have a co-worker who's blind, and she felt so strongly that she did not want someone else to complete her ballot for her that she has continued to go and vote in person, even though she feels she's risking her life because of COVID-19," Beckert said.

When it comes down to it, Beckert encouraged voters with disabilities to make sure their voices are heard despite current circumstances.

Voters with disabilities who need assistance or additional information can contact Disability Rights Wisconsin.