The right to vote on paper doesn't always translate to the ability to do so in practice. On this episode of Northeast Notebook, we'll explore the barriers that those with physical and intellectual disabilities face when casting a ballot.
Read the full transcript below:
Annie Bennett: This is Northeast Notebook from WAMC. I'm Annie Bennett.
Clifton Perez: It gets discouraging when you go to the voting place and people don't know what they're doing.
Annie Bennett: In 2024, Rutgers University reported that in the United States, 1 in 6 eligible voters has a disability. But advocates say there are barriers that make it difficult for people with disabilities to participate in the democratic process.
Sajina Shrestha: Sometimes, there's not a lot of awareness about how you can accommodate someone with an intellectual or developmental disability.
Clifton Perez: So we had to literally go to the legislature and get a law passed basically saying that local people needed to make their voting accessible to people with disabilities.
Annie Bennett: In today's episode, we take a deep dive into how accessible voting actually is in 2026.
Edward Barts: But how are our representatives supposed to represent us if they don't know we exist and want to have an impact on the political world?
Annie Bennett: Edward Barts is writing a book. He's a podcaster. He also has cerebral palsy.
Edward Barts: I use my head for much more than a place to put a hat. I move my wheelchair with my head. The gray spot you see on my forehead is how I'm accessing my communication device. I am moving a mouse around to select what I want to say. I like writing because it allows people to get to know what is going on between my ears.
Annie Bennett: Each word can take Ed a while to say so we gave him some questions in advance.
Edward Barts: I feel the need to talk to you today about the importance of having accessible voting places, which I think is truly sad. Here we are in the year two thousand twenty-six, and having to repeatedly remind people to make voting places accessible to people with all types of disabilities is absolutely insane to me. This country was formed to give all citizens living here a voice in our government. This happens to include people with disabilities.
Annie Bennett: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a federal civil rights law that provides protections to people with disabilities. But advocates say that it's often hard to exercise that right, both for those with physical and mental disabilities. Sajina Shrestha is a producer and a reporter for WAMC. She's investigated ADA compliance and disability voting access.
Sajina Shrestha: There are different types of accommodations that people with developmental disabilities or intellectual disabilities need.
Annie Bennett: Sajina spoke with an advocate from Care Design New York. Veronica is a voter who also has a developmental disability.
Sajina Shrestha: And what she said was, "Well, you know, what I really liked was that my trusted adult," which is the term that they use, "my trusted adult made sure to explain everything meticulously with me, but not in a way that made me feel like I was influenced by what they were saying," because that person should have the right to make the decision that they want.
Annie Bennett: I also spoke with Clifton Perez, the systems advocate at the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley. He's legally blind and has been a disability rights advocate for 41 years. He says that whether or not it's intentional, election systems create discriminatory practices that harm the disabled community.
Clifton Perez: In other words, we've passed the law. Now we actually can vote. So, I can't even begin to tell you what we had to deal with before all that. But this is what we have to deal with now, and now it's supposed to be better.
Annie Bennett: Access to adaptive technology isn't always simple. Cliff uses a machine that makes independent voting possible as a blind man.
Clifton Perez: And so I can vote using this machine and I don't have to use my wife's help like I've always had before. And almost anybody can use that machine - somebody with a learning disability, somebody with a different language can use that machine - because it's not just for people with disabilities. The machines are for anybody, and unfortunately they're not presenting it that way, and they should do that. Because when anything is segregated, and I don't think I need to go all into that whole segregated thing but equal stuff, and when you have a separate machine, in a way that's a semi-separate thing. And, unfortunately, we get treated that way when we go vote.
Annie Bennett: What are some of the barriers that people with disabilities are facing when it comes to voting?
Clifton Perez: Well, the access that you think of first obviously is physical access. And access is so much broader, right? There's informational access, and there's just all kinds of aspects of access. And none of that was addressed until the 1965 Voters' Rights Act. It at least provided or at least mentioned that people with disabilities should be assisted, although it never said how...
Annie Bennett: That last part, Cliff told me, is really crucial to understand. The right to vote on paper doesn't always translate to the ability to do so in practice. Sajina found in her reporting that oftentimes poll workers are untrained in how to assist voters with disabilities.
Sajina Shrestha: Sometimes there's not a lot of awareness about how you can accommodate somebody with an intellectual or developmental disability. And one of the ways they talked was, you know, the individuals can call up polls ahead of time and ask, like, "Hey, when is your busiest times? When is your quietest times?" And, you know, they obviously need a little bit more time when they're voting.
Clifton Perez: It gets discouraging when you go to the voting place and people don't know what they're doing. You have this one machine. They're not the same. So, Albany has one machine. Rensselaer has another machine. So, like, if you moved, then you'd have to get used to the other machine 'cause it's not the same as the one you have. And then when you get there, it's always, for the most part, off in some corner, um, covered up maybe with a tarp, not plugged in. The people working there usually don't know how to work it. Uh, they act surprised when you say that you want to use the machine. At one time, as I was saying, when I went to vote, this lady screams out loud, "Oh, the blind guy's here to vote," to everybody. And this is the kind of thing that happens a lot.
Annie Bennett: And that's with Cliff's big advantage: his wife not only advocates for him, but drives him to and from the polls. But for many people living with disabilities, transportation is a huge issue. Ed Barts says, though, it's not as simple as just voting by mail.
Edward Barts: You may be thinking a quick fix is the absentee ballot. Yes, this does help people who can't physically get out to vote, but how are our representatives supposed to represent us if they don't know we exist and want to have an impact on the political world? Assistive technology plays a large part in making voting accessible to all people, diagnosed with a disability or not.
Annie Bennett: Sajina also told me that activists are concerned about the Trump administration's efforts to limit mail-in voting and what that could mean for people that use mail-in ballots to accommodate a disability. The Help America Vote Act was signed in 2002. It requires more specific accessibility tools to be provided in federal elections. And although the intent was also to help local elections update their practices and equipment, the act didn't actually require any changes below the federal level. The New York State Board of Elections says on its website that New York has developed a plan to implement its provisions and access the federal funds needed to ensure compliance.
Clifton Perez: Local government, you know, they're not smart enough to go, "You know what? We really want people to vote, and since the Help America Vote Act, we should probably address this, too, at the local level and get accessible machines." You think they would do that? No, they wouldn't do that. So we had to literally go to the legislature and get a law passed basically saying that local people needed to make their voting accessible to people with disabilities.
Annie Bennett: He's talking here specifically about Section 7-202 of New York State Election Law, which has been in place since 2005. The Board of Elections told WAMC over email that they have made many recent efforts to improve accessibility, including a complete redesign of their website in 2024 and launching the Accessibility Services and Training Unit in 2025, which is supposed to oversee ADA compliance and, as they say, “best practices in accessible voting.” With midterms around the horizon, the push to get disabled voters to the ballot box is particularly relevant.
Edward Barts: From large print ballots to audio feedback, we need and want to be part of our communities. Voting is essential and includes partnership with our communities.
Annie Bennett: Northeast Notebook is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Our executive producer is Lucas Willard. Our editor is Diane Devore. Original music by Eduardo Rivera. Please consider subscribing to Northeast Notebook anywhere you get your podcasts and we really appreciate if you have the chance to rate or review; it really helps more people find our show. I’m Annie Bennett; I produced and hosted today’s episode. Thank you so much for listening.
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