Disabled Voters Face Significant Accessibility Barriers in U.S. Elections
Disabled voters in the United States continue to encounter numerous obstacles across all stages of the voting process, from registration to casting ballots. A 2024 report by the US Election Assistance Commission and Rutgers University revealed that 14% of voters with disabilities experienced issues in the 2022 midterm elections, compared to 4% of non-disabled voters. While accessibility has improved over two decades with more ramps and accessible machines, significant problems persist. These issues include difficulties with waiting in line, reading or writing on ballots, getting inside polling places, and accessing voting materials. Attacks on mail-in voting in many states disproportionately affect disabled individuals, especially those who are immunocompromised. Despite some exemptions for disabled people in these laws, concerns about mail ballots not being properly counted lead some to prefer in-person voting, where they often face other accessibility challenges.
