Tonya Mosley: It's Here & Now. Long voting lines are cropping up around the U.S.
But what if
you are physically unable to stand for long periods of time? For some 38 million voters with disabilities, voting comes with challenges. Studies have shown that one in three voters with disabilities will face difficulty in voting at a polling place. Sabrina Epstein is a Johns Hopkins University student with a disability that prevents her from standing in line for long stretches to vote. Facing these barriers in her own life, she's become a vocal advocate for disability rights and she joins us now. Welcome.
Sabrina Epstein: Thanks for having me.
Mosley: How did you cast your ballot this election?
Epstein: I was able to cast my own private, independent ballot through vote by mail, but I had to jump through some hoops to do so. They don't make it easy. I can't vote in person for a couple of reasons. First, that many polling places are inaccessible, even though they're required by law to be [Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990] compliant. That's pretty rarely enforced. And also, standing in long lines is not something I can do with my disability. And also, I'm high-risk for COVID-19, so the idea of going to a polling place among all these crowds of early voters is not something that would work for me this year.
Mosley: What has been the breakdown — why [are] these polling places, which are often libraries and churches and places like that, not ADA compliant?
Epstein: It's mostly a matter of enforcement. When federal laws, at the most basic level, like the Americans with Disabilities Act, which has been around for 30 years, isn't enforced by the federal government, then it all trickles down to creating even more problems at the state and local level.
Mosley: I know also in places like Texas, poll workers have to give disabled people priority when standing in line to vote, but that is not a law in Maryland yet. What else can Maryland do to improve accessibility for voters with disabilities?
Epstein: While it's really exciting to see these images of long lines to vote because so many people are early voting, to people with physical disabilities like myself, that is an image of inaccessibility. So some states do have laws requiring poll workers to prioritize people with disabilities and older adults, and in some states, parents of children with disabilities, or caregivers. Another change that I'm concerned about is that last week, the Supreme Court reinstated a ban on curbside voting in Alabama, which is another form of accessible voting to be able to have someone bring out a ballot to your car, and the Supreme Court decided that Alabama can continue its ban on curbside voting, which is just a huge step backwards, especially right now when people are trying not to be in big crowds because of social distancing.
Mosley: I want to ask you about something else. Can you describe the electronic voting system for blind voters in Maryland?
Epstein: Yeah. So here in Maryland, there's two different options for blind and low-vision voters. The first would be to go to a polling place and use a ballot marker. Every polling place is required to have at least one ballot marking device, which lets you be able to hear what's on the ballot. However, this sometimes becomes a problem because if only blind and low-vision voters are using this device, then it becomes a segregated form of voting. So some poll workers are trying to encourage people without disabilities to also use these ballot marking devices. The other option is newer here in Maryland and came about due to a blind advocacy groups lawsuit, the National Federation for the Blind, which allows voters to request a ballot electronically, which they can fill out on their computer at home, which is really excellent because it allows people to use a screen reader to read them the ballot and fill it out privately and independently, which, as we know, is the goal. However, you then have to print it out and mail it in. And of course, not everyone has printers or access to the Internet or screen reader technology, so although it's a huge step forward, there's still a lot of barriers for blind and low-vision voters.
Mosley: Yes. And as you as you speak, I'm just thinking about access to information about all of this. Is it really clear? I guess it really depends on where you live, whether or not you have access to even know these resources are available to you.
Epstein: Absolutely. It's hard to figure out what all the options are for voting, especially right now with COVID and so many of the rules and policies changing around voting. And on top of that, it's hard to find accessible information from candidates, especially local candidates, down the ballot. Not all of their web sites are accessible to people using screen readers. They don't all have high-contrast text and not all of their videos are captioned. And it's really frustrating to feel left out of the political discussion, even just in that what some may say is a small way.
Mosley: Every election season, there's a call to action to be more accessible for folks with disabilities. But this particular election is different than others because we're seeing record turnout at voting places and really a push for people to vote by mail. What changes do you still hope to see come out of this election?
Epstein: I do hope that vote by mail sticks around as an option for all voters. But it's important for the disability community that vote by mail is not the only option that's available, because as you can see, although voting by mail is the most accessible option for my particular disability, it's not for everyone. We all have different experiences.
Mosley: That's Sabrina Epstein, a student in Maryland who advocates for the rights of people with disabilities. Thank you so much, Sabrina.