DISABILITY AND VOTING ACCESSIBILITY IN THE 2022 ELECTIONS 1

Key points

This increase helped close but did not eliminate the turnout gap between citizens with and 

without disabilities, which went from -4.8 points in 2018 to -1.5 points in 2022.

Based on Census data, voter turnout increased in 2022 by 1.6 points among citizens with 

disabilities relative to the 2018 midterm elections, while it decreased among citizens without 

disabilities by 1.6 points.

Lisa Schur, Douglas Kruse, and Mason Ameri1

The increased turnout among people with disabilities occurred across all disability types and 

demographic categories—gender, race/ethnicity, age group, and region—but was especially 

pronounced among young voters with disabilities.

15.8 million citizens with disabilities reported voting in the November 2022 elections.

States providing easier access to voting by mail between 2018 and 2022 had significantly 

higher turnout increases among people with disabilities.

Employed people with disabilities were just as likely as those without disabilities to vote, 

suggesting that employment helps bring people with disabilities into mainstream political life.

If people with disabilities voted at the same rate as people without disabilities who have the 

same demographic characteristics, there would be about 2.0 million more voters.

Combined with the 2022 post-election survey finding that 14% of voters with disabilities 

had some type of difficulty voting in 2022, this data indicates a total of 2.2 million voters 

with disabilities experienced voting difficulties.

1

Professors at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, Lschur@smlr.rutgers.edu, Dkruse@smlr.rutgers.edu, and Mason.Ameri@rutgers.edu. 

Disability and Voter Turnout 

in the 2022 Elections

Supplemental Analysis of Census Voter Turnout Data
2 U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION | RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

As shown above, among the voting-eligible population (citizens age 18 or older), 50.8% of people 

with disabilities reported voting in 2022, compared to 52.4% of people without disabilities. Within 

the disability population, the voting rate among people with hearing impairments (59.4%) was higher 

than the overall voting rate for people without disabilities, and the lowest rate was among those with 

difficulty dressing or bathing (37.9%). For each disability group, the difference in turnout from those 

without disabilities is strong enough to be outside the survey’s margin of error.2

As also seen above, turnout increased from 2018 to 2022 for people with disabilities by 1.6 points 

but decreased for people without disabilities by 1.6 points. This caused the disability turnout gap to 

decrease markedly from 4.8 points in 2018 to 1.5 points in 2022.3 These changes are also strong 

enough to be outside the survey’s margin of error.

These figures are based on an analysis of data from the federal government’s Current Population 

Survey Voting Supplement for November 2022, which has a sample size of 73,083. The computations 

were made using six disability questions introduced on the Current Population Survey in 2008.

2018 2022 Change 2018-2022

People without disabilities 54.0% 52.4% -1.6%

People with disabilities 49.3% 50.8% 1.6%

Disability turnout gap -4.8% -1.5%

Hearing impairment 57.0% 59.4% 2.5%

Visual impairment 49.5% 50.9% 1.4%

Mental or cognitive impairment 37.1% 38.3% 1.2%

Difficulty walking or climbing stairs 49.0% 50.8% 1.8%

Difficulty dressing or bathing 39.4% 37.9% -1.6%

Difficulty going outside alone 37.9% 39.4% 1.4%

Disability and Voter Turnout in 2018 and 2022

2 The margins of error are based on a 95% level of confidence.

3 Using similar measures, studies of prior elections have also consistently found disability turnout gaps (reviewed in Lisa Schur and Meera Adya, “Sidelined or Mainstreamed? Political 

Participation and Attitudes of People with Disabilities in the United States, Social Science Quarterly 94(3), 2013, pp. 811-839).

Disability and Voter Turnout in 2018 and 2022 2020 2022

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

54.0% 52.4%

49.3% 50.9%

No Disability Disability
DISABILITY AND VOTING ACCESSIBILITY IN THE 2022 ELECTIONS 3

Among the 106.1 million voters without disabilities, 10.8 million lived in a household with a person 

with a disability. Combined with voters with disabilities, there were 26.5 million voters in disability 

households, equaling 22% of all voters.

Some of the disability turnout gap may be due to other demographic differences between people 

with and without disabilities. When adjusted for gender, race, age, education, and state of residence, 

the estimated gap expands from 1.5 points to 6.4 points. This implies that if people with disabilities 

voted at the same rate as otherwise-similar people without disabilities, there would be an additional 

2.0 million voters.

Based on this survey, an estimated 121.9 million people reported voting, which is slightly higher than 

the 111.5 million ballots cast in a preliminary estimate.4 Any misreporting is unlikely to differ between 

the disability and non-disability populations, so the estimate of the turnout gap should be unbiased.

The estimated 15.8 million voters with disabilities compares with an estimated 13.9 million AfricanAmericans and 11.8 million Hispanics/Latinos who reported voting in 2022, based on analysis of this 

voting supplement. The total number of non-voters with disabilities was 15.3 million, for a total of 

31.1 million voting-eligible citizens with disabilities. It should be noted that the disability total may be 

understated because these disability measures may not capture several types of disability.5

4 US Elections Project - 2022g (electproject.org), accessed 5-17-23.

5 The disability questions measure the major sensory, mobility, and cognitive impairments, but may miss some learning disabilities, mental impairments, and physical conditions that do 

not necessarily limit mobility, such as epilepsy and cancer. It should also be noted that disability estimates from the Current Population Survey are lower than estimates from the Census 

Bureau’s American Community Survey, likely due to methodological differences in how the surveys are conducted.

Millions who reported

Voting Not Voting

Overall 121.9 111.6

People without disabilities 106.1 96.4

People with disabilities 15.8 15.3

Hearing impairment 5.6 3.8

Visual impairment 2.3 2.2

Mental or cognitive impairment 3.8 6.1

Difficulty walking or climbing stairs 8.7 8.4

Difficulty dressing or bathing 1.9 3.1

Difficulty going outside alone 4.2 6.5

People without disabilities in disability households 10.8 10.3

Total in disability households 26.5 25.6

Number of voters and non-voters in 2022
4

Some of the lower turnout of people with disabilities is tied to difficulties in voting. A national survey 

sponsored by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) following the 2022 elections found 

that 14% of voters with disabilities had some type of difficulty in voting, which is more than three 

times the rate of 4% among voters without disabilities.6 Voting accessibility appears to have improved 

since 2012, when the likelihood of voting difficulties was 26% among voters with disabilities. In 2022 

the rate of difficulties among voters with disabilities was 20% among those voting in a polling place 

and 6% among those voting with a mail ballot.

Combining the 14% rate of voting difficulties from the EAC study with the 15.8 million voters with 

disabilities cited above, we estimate that 2.2 million voters with disabilities had some type of difficulty 

in voting in 2022.

Access to voting information may also constrain some people with disabilities. A 2022 EAC report 

found that people with disabilities are less likely than people without disabilities to have access to the 

internet for information on how or where to vote and are more likely to use non-internet sources 

such as printed mailings from the election office, television, and talking to family members, friends, 

neighbors, or colleagues.7

Apart from demographic differences and voting difficulties, prior research has found that lower 

disability turnout is partly explained by lower levels of income, lower levels of political recruitment, 

and lower feelings of political efficacy.8

One methodological concern is that reported turnout may be underestimated due to how the 

Census Bureau treats non-responding households. Using adjustments to account for this possible 

underestimate, though, still reveals that disability turnout increased in 2022 while non-disability 

turnout decreased, so that the turnout gap became markedly smaller between 2018 and 2022.10

6 Lisa Schur, Douglas Kruse, and Mason Ameri, “Disability and Voting Accessibility in the 2022 Elections: Final Report on Survey Results Submitted to the Election Assistance 

Commission,” May 2023.

7 Disability, the Voting Process, and the Digital Divide | U.S. Election Assistance Commission (eac.gov)

8 The prior findings are summarized in Lisa Schur, Todd Shields, and Kay Schriner, “Voting,” in Gary Albrecht, ed., Encyclopedia of Disability (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 

2005), and Lisa Schur and Meera Adya, “Sidelined or Mainstreamed? Political Participation and Attitudes of People with Disabilities in the United States, Social Science Quarterly, 

94(3), 2013, pp. 811-839.

9 Hur, A. and Achen, C.H., 2013. Coding voter turnout responses in the Current Population Survey. Public Opinion Quarterly, 77(4), pp.985-993.

10 The U.S. Census Bureau counts respondents as not having voted if they decline to respond to the voting questions. If one instead imputes the vote likelihood of non-respondents, 

reported turnout is 56.2% in 2018 and 58.1% in 2022 for people with disabilities, and 64.9% in 2018 and 62.0% in 2022 for people without disabilities, causing the disability turnout gap 

to change from -8.8 points in 2018 to -3.9 points in 2022.
DISABILITY AND VOTING ACCESSIBILITY IN THE 2022 ELECTIONS 5

State Voting Rules

Several states changed election policies and procedures between the 2018 and 2022 midterms. 

Five states switched from requiring excuses for mail ballots to a no-excuse system, while four 

switched from no-excuse to all-vote-by-mail systems. These changes in voting rules provide a useful 

opportunity to investigate the relationship between voting procedures and turnout.

As can be seen in the table below, turnout among people with disabilities improved significantly 

between 2018 and 2022 in the states that switched from excuse-required to no-excuse systems (6.9 

points) and in those that switched from no-excuse to all-vote-by-mail systems (5.3 points). Their 

turnout did not change significantly in the states that did not switch systems. Among people without 

disabilities, turnout declined significantly in states that remained excuse-required (-2.9 points) or 

no-excuse (-2.5 points) and did not change significantly in states that switched systems. 

A similar pattern exists in states implementing new voting laws in 2021 and 2022. This table shows 

that among states with “mostly improved access” in 2021 and 2022 (according to the Voting Rights 

Lab), turnout among people with disabilities improved significantly (4.4 points). Their turnout 

appeared to decrease by 1.8 points in states that “mostly restricted access,” but this change was 

within the margin of error, as were the small changes in disability turnout in states with “no major 

changes” or “mixed impact” of voting legislation. Among people without disabilities, turnout did not 

change significantly in states with “mostly improved access,” which was better than the significant 

turnout declines in states that “mostly restricted access” (-2.0 points) or had “no major changes” 

(-3.0 points) or “mixed impact” of voting legislation (-3.3 points). 

While these results cannot establish clear causality (since other state-specific factors may be 

responsible for the changes in turnout), these pre/post comparisons are consistent with the idea 

that policies making it easier to vote are especially beneficial for increasing the turnout of people 

with disabilities. 
6 U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION | RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

State Voting Rules and Turnout by Disability Status

Disability No Disability Voter turnout change 

from 2018 to 2022

2018 2022 2018 2022 Disability No Disability

State changes in mail ballots 2018-2022^

Remained excuse-required (15 states) 46.0% 46.3% 50.5% 47.6% 0.3% -2.9% *

Remained no-excuse (23 states + DC) 50.0% 49.6% 55.6% 53.1% -0.4% -2.5% *

Remained all vote by mail (3 states) 58.8% 60.7% 60.7% 63.0% 1.9% 2.4%

Changed from excuse required to no excuse (5 states) 51.1% 58.0% 57.4% 58.8% 6.9% * 1.5%

Changed from no excuse to all vote by mail (4 states) 49.7% 55.0% 52.0% 51.1% 5.3% * -0.9%

State changes in voting policies 2021-2022^^

Mostly restricted access (11 states) 51.4% 49.6% 52.6% 50.6% -1.8% -2.0% *

No major changes (10 states) 46.7% 47.4% 54.4% 51.4% 0.7% -3.0% *

Mixed impact (6 states) 48.6% 48.2% 53.5% 50.2% -0.4% -3.3% *

Mostly improved access (23 states) 49.4% 53.8% 54.7% 54.0% 4.4% * -0.7%

* 2018-2022 change is large enough to be outside 95% margin of error. 

^ Based on data from National Council of State Legislatures at https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/voting-outside-the-polling-place.

^^ Based on data from Voting Rights Lab at https://votingrightslab.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/VRL-2022_EOY-Report-AprilEdit.pdf. 

All figures represent voter turnout.
DISABILITY AND VOTING ACCESSIBILITY IN THE 2022 ELECTIONS 7

Disability No Disability Disability Gap

2018 2022 2018 2022 2018 2022

Overall 49.3% 50.9% 54.0% 52.4% -4.8% * -1.5% *

Employed 53.1% 52.6% 54.5% 52.3% -1.4% 0.3%

Not employed 48.1% 49.9% 53.9% 54.3% -5.7% * -4.4% *

Women 48.8% 50.2% 55.9% 53.5% -7.0% * -3.3% *

Men 49.8% 51.7% 52.1% 51.2% -2.3% * 0.4%

White non-Hispanic 51.2% 53.8% 58.4% 58.3% -7.2% * -4.5% *

Black non-Hispanic 49.2% 46.3% 51.7% 45.5% -2.6% 0.8%

Hispanic 40.1% 41.2% 40.4% 37.5% -0.4% -3.7%

Other 38.8% 40.5% 42.3% 41.1% -3.5% -0.7%

Age 18-34 25.6% 28.1% 38.8% 35.1% -13.2% * -7.0% *

Age 35-49 37.6% 34.6% 53.6% 51.4% -16.0% * -16.9% *

Age 50-64 48.0% 50.4% 62.6% 61.3% -14.6% * -10.9% *

Age 65+ 57.6% 60.0% 69.6% 69.6% -12.1% * -9.5% *

Northeast 47.7% 54.1% 53.9% 53.8% -6.2% * 0.3%

Midwest 50.2% 49.2% 56.9% 54.9% -6.7% * -5.7% *

South 47.4% 47.3% 52.1% 49.1% -4.7% * -1.8%

West 53.2% 57.0% 54.7% 54.4% -1.5% 2.6% *

*Disability gap is large enough to be outside 95% margin of error.

Breakdown by Employment Status and Demographics

Disability turnout grew among almost all employment and demographic categories from 2018 to 

2022. There was no gap in voter turnout between employed people with and without disabilities in 

either year, indicating that employment helps provide resources and social contact that encourage 

voting. The disability voting gap was concentrated among the non-employed, as shown in the 

numbers below. The 2022 disability gap was also:

• Larger among women than among men, reflecting especially high voter turnout among women 

without disabilities;

• Larger among white non-Hispanics than among other race and ethnicity groups;

• Smaller among the youngest (18-34) and oldest (65+) age groups

The strongest improvement was among young voters with disabilities, where the disability gap 

decreased from -13.2 points in 2018 to -7.0 points in 2022. 
8 U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION | RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

Whether Voted by Mail and on Election Day

Among voters with disabilities in 2022, only 44% voted at the polling place on Election Day, 

compared to 51% of those without disabilities. They were instead more likely to vote by mail before 

Election Day (37% compared to 28%), reflecting the mobility problems faced by some people with 

disabilities. There was no significant difference between people with and without disabilities in voting 

early in person.

Between 2018 and 2022, there was a large increase in voting by mail before Election Day among 

people with disabilities (29% to 37%) and those without disabilities (20% to 28%). This increase was 

very similar for people with and without disabilities, so the disability gap in voting by mail before 

Election Day was very similar in 2018 and 2022 (both about nine percentage points). Except for the 

percentage voting at a polling place before Election Day, the disability gaps in both years are strong 

enough to be outside the survey’s margin of error.

* 2018-2022 change is large enough to be outside 95% margin of error. 

^ Based on data from National Council of State Legislatures at https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/voting-outside-the-polling-place.

^^ Based on data from Voting Rights Lab at https://votingrightslab.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/VRL-2022_EOY-Report-AprilEdit.pdf. 

How Voted Disability No Disability Disability Gap

2018 2022 2018 2022 2018 2022

At polling place on Election Day 52.9% 43.5% 60.9% 50.9% -8.0% * -7.4% *

At polling place before Election Day 16.4% 17.6% 16.8% 18.2% -0.4% -0.6%

By mail before Election Day 29.4% 37.1% 20.3% 28.1% * 9.0% * -1.5% *

By mail on Election Day 1.3% 1.8% 2.0% 2.8% -0.8% * -1.0% *
DISABILITY AND VOTING ACCESSIBILITY IN THE 2022 ELECTIONS 9

*Disability gap is large enough to be outside 95% margin of error.

State Breakdowns in Voter Turnout

The voter turnout gap between people with and without disabilities varied by state, as shown in the 

breakdown below. It should be cautioned that the sample size is low in many states, which increases 

the margin of error and decreases the likelihood of finding a disability gap that exceeds the margin 

of error. The disability gap in 2022 was large enough to be outside the margin of error (indicated by 

an “*”) in nine states and was within the margin of error in the remaining 41 states and the District of 

Columbia.

Disability No Disability Disability Gap

2018 2022 2018 2022 2018 2022

U.S. 49.3% 50.9% 54.0% 52.4% -4.8% -1.5%

Alabama 48.2% 44.4% 51.1% 45.6% -2.9% -1.2%

Alaska 52.6% 57.1% 52.8% 54.3% -0.3% 2.9%

Arizona 59.5% 61.2% 58.8% 55.1% 0.7% 6.2%

Arkansas 45.5% 46.0% 42.1% 43.5% 3.4% 2.4%

California 49.5% 54.1% 52.1% 51.2% -2.6% 2.9%

Colorado 59.0% 55.5% 58.0% 62.0% 0.9% -6.5%

Connecticut 53.1% 39.5% 54.1% 50.7% -1.0% -11.1%

Delaware 47.2% 51.3% 52.3% 54.7% -5.2% -3.4%

Florida 51.6% 47.8% 52.8% 49.2% -1.1% -1.4%

Georgia 53.7% 49.9% 56.1% 57.8% -2.4% -7.9% *

Hawaii 47.0% 48.8% 43.6% 50.2% 3.4% -1.4%

Idaho 39.6% 55.2% 49.2% 47.3% -9.5% * 7.9%

Illinois 53.7% 47.5% 52.9% 52.8% 0.9% -5.2%

Indiana 42.5% 38.6% 50.5% 42.4% -8.0% * -3.9%

Iowa 54.4% 47.9% 60.4% 52.4% -6.0% -4.5%

Kansas 53.4% 58.7% 57.4% 59.5% -4.0% -0.8%

Kentucky 45.4% 54.5% 55.6% 51.8% -10.2% * 2.7%

Louisiana 45.6% 49.2% 50.6% 48.0% -5.0% 1.2%

Maine 65.2% 55.4% 65.7% 65.9% -0.5% -10.5% *

Maryland 41.8% 61.8% 55.8% 57.3% -14.1% * 4.4%

Massachusetts 47.8% 59.3% 56.5% 56.4% -8.7% * 3.0%

Michigan 54.7% 58.2% 60.2% 64.2% -5.5% -6.0%

Minnesota 45.7% 57.1% 65.2% 64.5% -19.5% * -7.4%

Mississippi 53.4% 43.5% 54.3% 47.1% -0.9% -3.5%

Missouri 51.3% 48.6% 55.7% 53.6% -4.4% -5.0%
10 U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION | RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

Montana 63.4% 61.7% 63.9% 55.8% -0.5% 5.9%

Nebraska 42.2% 48.4% 52.0% 48.8% -9.8% * -0.4%

Nevada 49.6% 63.1% 48.6% 49.3% 1.0% 13.8% *

New Hampshire 46.9% 47.7% 57.2% 60.7% -10.3% * -13.0% *

New Jersey 42.0% 49.3% 55.4% 50.6% -13.4% * -1.3%

New Mexico 51.4% 49.8% 47.5% 55.0% 3.9% -5.2%

New York 43.6% 51.3% 50.3% 48.8% -6.7% * 2.5%

North Carolina 44.9% 41.7% 53.5% 46.3% -8.6% * -4.5%

North Dakota 61.6% 56.3% 61.9% 51.4% -0.3% 4.8%

Ohio 45.9% 42.2% 53.7% 48.9% -7.8% * -6.7% *

Oklahoma 47.5% 46.2% 49.8% 47.2% -2.3% -1.0%

Oregon 57.0% 59.4% 61.9% 71.9% -4.9% -12.5% *

Pennsylvania 51.7% 59.5% 55.1% 60.1% -3.4% -0.5%

Rhode Island 47.2% 55.9% 52.1% 54.1% -4.9% 1.8%

South Carolina 46.6% 38.7% 49.1% 46.1% -2.5% -7.4% *

South Dakota 46.8% 57.6% 52.5% 52.9% -5.7% 4.7%

Tennessee 38.5% 41.6% 51.4% 45.1% -13.0% * -3.5%

Texas 48.2% 48.1% 48.4% 46.8% -0.2% 1.3%

Utah 53.9% 59.3% 58.1% 51.9% -4.2% 7.4%

Vermont 45.1% 49.9% 56.3% 64.1% -11.2% * -14.2% *

Virginia 47.4% 53.2% 58.9% 53.2% -11.5% * 0.0%

Washington 60.0% 64.5% 62.1% 58.9% -2.1% 5.7%

Washington, D.C. 46.7% 60.1% 62.9% 63.4% -16.2% * -3.2%

West Virginia 37.6% 34.2% 45.7% 39.3% -8.1% * -5.1%

Wisconsin 55.4% 50.9% 65.8% 62.6% -10.4% * -11.7% *

Wyoming 50.9% 43.1% 52.3% 49.9% -1.4% -6.9%

*Disability gap is large enough to be outside 95% margin of error.
DISABILITY AND VOTING ACCESSIBILITY IN THE 2022 ELECTIONS 11

Voter Registration

The disability voting gap is partly due to lower voter registration but more so a lower likelihood of 

voting if registered. Among people with disabilities, 69.2% were registered to vote, only 0.5 points 

lower than the rate for people without disabilities. Among those who were registered, 74.1% voted, 

which was 1.6 points lower than for registered people without disabilities. People with disabilities were 

more likely than those without disabilities to have registered at a town hall or registration office, by 

mail, at a polling place, registration drive, or public assistance agency. They are less likely than people 

without disabilities to have registered at a department of motor vehicles, using the internet, or at a 

school, hospital, or on campus.

Each of these disability gaps is strong enough to be outside the survey’s margin of error, except for 

the overall gap in being registered to vote.

Disability No Disability Disability Gap

Registered to vote 68.7% 68.7% -0.5%

Voted if registered 74.1% 75.7% -1.6% *

How registered to vote:

At a department of motor vehicles 29.6% 37.7% -8.1% *

Went to a town hall or county/ 

government registration office 22.5% 15.4% 7.1% *

Registered by mail 17.5% 15.6% 1.9% *

Registered at polling place 6.8% 5.8% 1.0% *

Filled out form at a registration drive 4.4% 3.4% 0.9% *

At a school, hospital, or on campus 3.8% 4.5% -0.8% *

Registered using the Internet or online 7.0% 12.1% -5.1% *

At a public assistance agency 2.0% 1.1% 0.9% *

Other 6.5% 4.3% 2.2% *

*Disability gap is large enough to be outside 95% margin of error.
12 U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION | RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

*Disability gap is large enough to be outside 95% margin of error.

Why People Were Not Registered

The most commonly expressed reason for not registering to vote among people with and without 

disabilities was a lack of interest in the election or politics. About one-fourth of people with 

disabilities (26%) gave “permanent illness or disability” as their reason for not being registered.

If not registered to vote, why not: Disability No Disability Disability Gap

Not interested in the election or not 

involved in politics 32.6% 44.9% -12.4% *

Permanent illness or disability 26.3% 1.4% 24.9% *

Not eligible to vote 6.6% 10.1% -3.5% *

Did not meet registration deadlines 5.7% 12.9% -7.1% *

My vote would not make a difference 4.8% 4.2% 0.7%

Did not know where or how to register 3.1% 4.7% -1.6% *

Difficulty with English 1.7% 1.5% 0.1%

Did not meet residency requirements/

did not live here long enough 2.9% 4.2% -1.3% *

Other reason 16.2% 16.0% 0.3%
DISABILITY AND VOTING ACCESSIBILITY IN THE 2022 ELECTIONS 13

Why People Did Not Vote if Registered

Among those who were registered to vote but did not do so in November 2022, about one-third 

(36%) of people with disabilities gave “illness or disability” as the reason for not voting, compared to 

9% of people without disabilities. People with disabilities were also more likely to cite transportation 

problems as a reason for not voting (6% compared to 2%), consistent with their higher rate of voting 

by mail. They were less likely than people without disabilities to say they were not interested, too 

busy, out of town, forgot, or expected inconvenience.

*Disability gap is large enough to be outside 95% margin of error.

Why didn’t vote Disability No Disability Disability Gap

Illness or disability (own or familial) 35.9% 9.0% 27.0% *

Not interested, felt my vote wouldn't 

make a difference 15.4% 18.6% -3.3% *

Transportation problems 6.2% 1.5% 4.7% *

Too busy, conflicting work or school schedule 10.9% 30.1% -19.3% *

Didn't like candidates or campaign issues 5.2% 5.5% 1.9% *

Forgot to vote (or send in absentee ballot) 3.6% 8.5% -3.3% *

Out of town or away from home 2.4% 9.4% -5.8% *

Registration problems (i.e., didn't 

receive absentee ballot, not registered 

in current location)

1.6% 2.5% -0.1%

Inconvenient hours, polling place or hours or 

lines too long 0.7% 2.7% -1.1% *

Bad weather conditions 10.8% 0.3% 0.4%

Other 16.2% 11.9% -1.1%