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Providing Assistance

Voters with Disabilities

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) 

contained landmark provisions requiring 

the secure, private and independent 

casting of ballots for voters with 

disabilities. Since then, states have 

made significant efforts to eliminate 

barriers and close the voter registration 

and voter participation gaps that exist 

between voters with disabilities and 

voters without disabilities. However, 

obstacles still exist for voters with 

disabilities and additional progress is 

needed to realize the true promise of 

HAVA. 

Today, more than 35 million Americans 

with disabilities are eligible to vote 

in the United States, accounting for 

roughly one-sixth of the total electorate. 

This ever-growing population of 

voters also faces educational, cultural 

and political barriers that can make 

participating in elections difficult. Since 

our establishment, the EAC has worked 

to expand access, regardless of a 

voter’s abilities, by providing resources, 

promoting best practices, educating 

voters with disabilities about their 

rights, and testing and certifying voting 

systems to ensure they are both secure 

and accessible to all.

In 2018, the EAC hosted public forums 

to gather feedback from voters with 

disabilities about challenges they can 

face when casting a ballot. In June, 

Chairman Thomas Hicks and Vice 

Chair Christy McCormick conducted a 

town hall discussion with voters with 

disabilities and advocates from across 

America at the annual National Disability 

Rights Network (NDRN) conference. 

During this event, participants shared 

their voting experiences and offered 

suggestions for improvement. EAC 

Commissioners then shared this 

valuable feedback with election officials 

and continued their communication with 

voters with disabilities through the 2018 

midterm election. 

“Ensuring the rights of voters with 

disabilities isn’t a choice, nor is it 

a partisan issue. It’s the law. We 

can never forget that as we work to 

improve elections.”

-Joint op-ed from Commissioners Hicks and McCormick 

published on the 28th anniversary of the Americans with 

Disabilities Act
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While there is no one solution that can 

be applied across the thousands of 

jurisdictions that comprise America’s 

decentralized election system, there are 

common threads in how best to serve 

voters with disabilities. The EAC elevates 

best practices which can serve as 

exemplary models to election officials, 

such as technological improvements, 

better training for election workers, 

ensuring there are multiple options 

which accommodate the diversity of 

disabilities and regular engagement with 

voters with disabilities. 

The EAC also ensures voters are 

educated about their rights. The EAC has 

distributed more than 20,000 federal 

voting rights cards in Braille, large 

print and plain language to voters with 

disabilities, advocacy organizations, and 

election officials across the United States 

since 2016. EAC Commissioners stress 

the need to find election solutions that 

will both increase security and expand 

access in Congressional testimony, 

meetings with state and local election 

officials, public appearances and public 

articles. The EAC also promotes best 

practices throughout the year with voter 

outreach, updated materials and online 

campaigns.

While jurisdictions have made advances 

in providing access to voters with 

disabilities since the passage of HAVA, 

more work needs to be done to meet 

the promise of private and independent 

voting for all. Moving forward, election 

officials should be continuously 

reminded to do all they can to ensure 

accessibility at every point in the voting 

process. 

Providing Assistance

Since 2016, the EAC has distributed more than 20,000 federal voting rights cards in Braille, 

large print and plain language in order to ensure voters with disabilities are educated about 

their rights.
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The EAC composes and promotes “case studies” of best practices that 

can serve as exemplary models for election officials. In 2018, several of 

these features focused on how to better assist voters with access needs. 

Contra Costa County, California, for example, provided specialized 

training to its election workers, placing them in the shoes of voters who 

need assistance to give them a new perspective and providing real-life 

examples of situations that can occur at a polling place on Election Day. 

Other jurisdictions, such as El Paso County, Colorado, have partnered 

with disability rights groups and resource centers to create universally 

accessible polling places. By seeking out partners and building 

relationships within the community, election officials can benefit from 

additional expertise and make the most of their often-limited resources.

Providing Assistance