For the past 10 years, Disability Rights Voting Week has been celebrated in September. This is important to note because one in four people identify as having a disability. Disability rights organizations throughout the country hold various events to help people with disabilities register to vote, check voter status, and educate politicians about how people with disabilities cast their ballot. In 2026, this education is still desperately needed because exercising our right to vote is often filled with a bureaucracy of ableism.
How do disabled people vote? If voting in-person we use ballot marking devices, which are voting machines specifically designed for a range of technology to accommodate a person based on their disability. As a totally blind person, I vote using a Braille controller that lets me navigate the ballot and headphones that come with the machine, which read the available candidates and races. Another option for folks who have issues using their hands is a puff and sip gadget that allows someone to navigate and select their choices through breathing.
Depending on the county where a person lives dictates which machine they use because there are different manufacturers. The one universal catch is there is no guarantee the machines are turned on, working, or both. If voting by mail there are the traditional absentee ballots, along with an electronic absentee ballot a disabled person can request through the Board of Elections. The electronic ballot is e-mailed to the person filling it out, either on a computer or smartphone. Once completed, it needs to be printed and mailed back to the Board of Elections in envelopes they send in the mail. Transportation can be an issue getting to the polling place depending on where a person lives.
Having voted in every local, New York State, and federal election since 2016, I’ve mostly encountered very explicit ableism where the poll workers will usually talk to anyone who is with me instead of to me. Usually they’re unfamiliar with how the accessible voting machines work. They need to call someone from the Board of Elections who needs to come to the polling place and get the machine working. It’s up and running in less than five minutes. Add that to the already half hour I’ve waited just to exercise my right to vote. At least that’s been my experience living in Rensselaer County, which sadly shouldn’t be a shock to anyone. Across the Hudson River in Albany County, my voting experience was significantly better. Either way, poll workers would greatly benefit from disability etiquette training and more disabled poll workers.
A 2023 disability rights New York survey highlights more obstacles for disabled people to vote. Across the state, 179 polling places were surveyed throughout 57 counties. A staggering 94% had an accessibility violation. Some of the accessibility violations included in the report were a ballot marking device not facing a wall to maximize privacy, a polling place that does not have a wheelchair-accessible entrance, and a parking lot that is too rough for anyone using a mobility aid to navigate. The county Board of Elections has six months from when a violation is reported to either address accessibility issues at the surveyed polling site or find another place that checks the accessibility boxes. These are systemic issues that are not being addressed because the state Board of Elections has little power over the counties.
Disability rights are under attack because of the current federal administration doing everything possible to destroy long-standing and hard-fought advocacy that ensured people with disabilities could participate in their communities like their non-disabled peers. Every election cycle, both parties have an obligation to provide accommodation for those with disabilities. It’s important that voters understand where a party stands on Disability Rights issues and accessibility for disabled voters when they cast their ballot. Vote…because our lives depend on it.
Blaise Bryant is a disability rights advocate. He is the host and executive producer of the Blaisin’ Access Podcast.
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