The Reality of Voting in Texas for Voters with Disabilities
Under Texas and federal law, voters with disabilities have the right to vote just like everyone else. However, polling locations are required to have accessible voting machines, meet strict accessibility standards, allow voters with disabilities to receive assistance, and provide curbside voting. At least that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
The reality is pretty different.
In 2012, 30% of voters with disabilities nationwide reported facing difficulties at a polling location. It is estimated that without barriers, 3 million more disabled Americans would have voted in 2012. In 2020, disabled Americans were about 7 percent less likely to vote than people without disabilities. Things have gotten better in recent years, and 2020 was a pretty good year, as measures to increase voter safety during the pandemic helped many voters with disabilities cast a ballot. But that trend seems unlikely to continue.
According to a study by the Government Accountability Office, 60% of polling locations are inaccessible in some way. There are a variety of impediments for voters with disabilities. For example, many polling locations only have one accessible voting machine, which poll workers may not have been properly trained to use. Voters have encountered these machines not being set up or powered on, the earphones not functioning, the machines not being wheelchair accessible, and them not having the same privacy as standard voting stations. Many polling places also have physical barriers, including steep ramps and poor path surfaces.
Voters with disabilities also face limited access to registration materials and insufficient resources for election officials. In addition, long lines to vote can make voting next to impossible for those in chronic pain, and machines without audio or large print ballots do the same for voters who are blind or have low vision.
Generally speaking, there are few voting laws that target people with disabilities, but they tend to be left out of the conversation at all. They often become collateral damage. Laws that target mail-in ballots impose stricter signature requirements for mail-in ballots, reduce the amount of time to request or mail in a ballot, restrict the availability of drop-off locations, or create new and stricter voter-ID requirements, all disproportionately hurt voters with disabilities. Voter-ID requirements that require a photo-ID hurt voters with disabilities who are less likely to drive and have a driver’s license. As a driver’s license is the most common form of photo ID, this means voters with disabilities must go out of their way to get a form of ID so that they can vote.
While things are bad nationwide for voters with disabilities, Texas has been doing a terrible job of protecting the right to vote. In Texas, about 15% of those eligible to vote are disabled, or about 3 million people. One glaring example of Texas’s lack of commitment to the rights of people with disabilities is the problems with the curbside voting process. Under state law, polling locations are not required to have signs to direct those using curbside voting to where they should go. This complicates the process unnecessarily and discourages voting. Poll workers have also been known to question voters on their disability status, which is illegal.
In 2021, Texas Republicans put forth bills that would undermine the disabled vote. Many of the measures included in those bills did not make it into law, but that doesn’t mean none of them did. SB1 institutes a number of extremely harmful provisions related to voters with disabilities.
SB1 sets up new rules for those who are providing assistance to voters with disabilities. Anyone aiding a voter must fill out paperwork disclosing their relationship with the voter and whether compensation was provided and recite an expanded oath—now under penalty of perjury—that they did not “pressure or coerce” the voter into choosing them for assistance. The section about providing compensation hurts caregivers and those who assist people with disabilities for a living, like personal aides or personal attendants. Because of this law, assistants are afraid of facing criminal charges for doing their jobs.
Under SB1, those who drive at least seven voters to the polls are also considered assistants and must comply with the new rules on compensation. This may impact nursing home employees who provide transportation to vote for those in their care. If any payment is determined to have been received, the attorney general’s office will get involved.
The new guidelines also limit how much assistance can be given to voters with disabilities. The helper must: read the entire ballot unless the voter asks for only parts to be read and must take an oath that they will not try to influence the voter’s vote and will mark as directed by the voter. If the voter is assisted by polling place officials, poll watchers, and election inspectors are allowed to observe the process. Notably, if the voter asks to be assisted by someone who is not a poll worker, no one can observe the process. Increased scrutiny over how a voter with a disability can be assisted is not fixing a widespread issue of voters with disabilities being taken advantage of but rather overcomplicating the process and hurting voters with disabilities. Voters who have intellectual or developmental disabilities help may require prompting or questioning that could be misconstrued as coercion by those who don’t know better.
Now, instead of helping protect voters with disabilities from being taken advantage of, the law is scaring off people who would otherwise provide the assistance needed by some voters with disabilities. The state of Texas has not provided enough guidance around the type of help voters with disabilities can receive, alarming disability rights groups, and those who want to provide assistance. In addition, fear of facing criminal charges if they do something seen as unlawful to a poorly trained poll worker may prevent some voters with disabilities from casting a ballot.
Disability rights groups have also expressed concern over provisions of the law that cut back on early voting and remove measures like drive-thru voting as options. Voters who are immunocompromised may have to choose between casting a ballot and their health.
New laws across the US, especially in Texas, make it more difficult for voters with disabilities to cast their ballot. In addition, new provisions in Texas may scare off people who provide critical assistance to voters with disabilities, preventing their voices from being heard.
At Rideshare2Vote, we provide free roundtrip rides to the polls, including ADA rides everywhere we drive. We also ensure that all our drivers are prepared to assist voters with whatever they may need to cast their ballot. So, if you or someone you know needs a ride to the polls, give us a call at 888-977-2250 or request a ride.
by Betsy Zalinski
