Voting for our elected officials at local, State, and the Federal levels is one of Americans’ most cherished privileges. It’s laudable that many States are putting the foot down on making laws which tighten up ID requirements and the modes for voting, whether that be in person on Election Day or absentee beforehand.
Rightly or not, many citizens had concerns about how Decision 2020 was carried out and trends that continued in 2022. Measures have arisen to clamp down on, among other things, ballot harvesting. Online forms have begun to require more exact signatures and proof of citizenship. These are all very good things as we want to preserve the privilege of having fair elections.
With that said, the disability community has raised concerns that cannot and should not be ignored. The recent matters brought to the fore by Texas Senate bill, SB1 (2021) deserve to be heard and handled well. In truth, this is not a single-party matter but an issue that both sides of the political aisle can and should address. How do we make both the treasured in-person voting experience and the various options beyond that accessible to people with various disabilities.
You can look here to see how the disability-especially the blindness-community in Indiana-called the State election board to account so that the absentee balloting may be available in alternative formats so that each citizen-blind, dyslexic, quadriplegic, et al- may have the privilege of voting.
As a same-day voter, I will always opt for the in-person process on Election Day itself. Yet, who am I to pit one way of voting against another when it comes to accessibility. If ballots are available for people in one format, they need to be there in other adapted formats. That’s why software like Democracy Live has become a big help for many States. You who wish to use it need to preregister with your precinct, get the link and any other needed information from your local election commission, follow the steps, and your vote will count.
Should one side of the political aisle be wary of the process favoring the other? No? Rather, accessibility to voting should encourage people-whatever their political persuasion-to cast their ballots for the candidates of their choice. In the end, our republican form of government is strengthened by having any legal voting method used in our elections accessible to everyone who is registered to vote.
For more on how and where you can register to vote, contact your State’s election commission. Even if the steps prove a challenge, making yourself eligible to participate in the electoral process is well worth your effort.
Boldly Blind 