Making This Election Accessible to All 

Voting rights are disability rights. Every issue is a disability issue. The disability community is diverse and part of every community in the US. Too often disability is excluded from conversations about the economy, climate change, housing, education, jobs, and healthcare.  

One quarter of Americans live with disabilities and there are an estimated 40 million eligible disabled voters. As people of faith, accessibility is key to unlocking our freedom. In the 2022 election, nearly 15.8 million disabled people voted in the US midterm elections.  In 2018, 83% of polling sites had barriers to voting for people with disabilities.  

Amid such ableism, we must remember God calls us to create a just world for all people living with disabilities. On both an individual and systematic scale, people of faith can—and must—work together to make the polls and our democracy more accessible to all. Consider some of the following strategies to make your election engagement outreach more accessible and inclusive: 

Accessible Language: One way is to help make the language associated with voting more accessible. The American Association of People with Disabilities offers an easy-to-read guide that explains key terminology used when voting with words explained such as “local election,” “state elections,” and “federal elections.” 

Accessible Content: When using social media to inform voters about their rights, use “open captions” (captions that remain visible on the screen for all). Add captions to all videos and use alternate text for images. 

Accessibility Dialogue: Include disability and accessibility in the conversations, dialogue, and questions to candidates about key issues including: healthcare, home/community services, voting rights, reproductive rights and bodily autonomy, criminal justice, employment, education, housing, transportation, technology, and climate change. Consider asking your local candidates questions such as: 

• What are you doing to ensure equal rights and political participation, including ensuring voters with disabilities and mental health experiences with symptoms are accommodated?  
• What are your priorities for addressing disabilities and mental health justice? How will you work to ensure that people with disabilities have quality, comprehensive, and affordable healthcare?  
• How will you address racism’s impact on disabilities and mental health justice for vulnerable communities? 

For a deeper dive into the 12 key issues listed above, check out this resource created by The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD).  

Accessible Transportation to the Polls: Many individuals may have a difficult time getting to their polling location on Election Day. If you know someone who may need assistance, reach out to them before Election Day to help create a transportation plan. Additionally, consider making an announcement at church and offer to organize rides to the polls throughout the day. 

Accessible Ballots: For those who may have difficulty voting in person, mail-in ballots are an excellent alternative. To receive a mail in—or absentee—ballot, you must apply for and return the ballot by a state-specific. Check out this resource to learn about your state’s absentee ballot application deadline.  

Know Your Rights: Federal law requires that voters with disabilities have equal voting access. Laws such as the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Americans with Disabilities Act, Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), and Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984 protect the right for people with disabilities must have full and equal access to our democracy. These laws require the following protections:  

• In-person voting sites and polling places must be fully accessible to disabled voters.  
• People who need assistance when voting by reason of disability or limited English proficiency must be able to choose the person who assists them, with few exceptions.  
• The right to vote cannot be conditioned on a voter’s ability to read or write or on a similar test of cognitive capabilities.   
• Each polling place in federal elections must have at least one accessible voting machine that enables voters with disabilities to cast a secret, independent ballot   

This Sunday October 13^th is Access Sunday, a day to celebrate the gifts of people with disabilities and the strides that the church has made in being more inclusive and becoming more accessible to all. As we approach this day, let us also consider the progress yet to be made. This is both a time to celebrate but also to remember and repent of the harm done to disabled people in religious spaces, and to call upon the whole church to recommit itself to access as a justice issue.  

May we cast our ballots this November with care and love for our siblings with disabilities, and for a vision for a just, accessible world for all.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rev. Dr. Sarah Lund is the Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice at the United Church of Christ.