Anyone who reads these orange trimmed pages with any regularity has to be aware of the frontal assault on democracy for partisan purposes well underway by the GOP in the form of voter suppression in the guise of election reform. Voter ID laws, registration purges, absentee ballot restrictions, undue constraints on voter registration efforts, reduced polling hours, all have been employed to disproportionately reduce the numbers of qualified voters among natural Democratic constituencies. In some cases, the attack on voting rights is even more overt.
But one group of voters gets little attention when these issues are discussed: Americans living with disabilities. Consider some numbers for a minute, if you will, then please follow me across the fold.
- 33,700,000 — The number of Americans of voting age living with a disability. ("People with Disabilities and Voting," The Center for an Accessible Society)
- 10,000,000 — How many additional votes would have been cast in 2008 had the same percentage of people with disabilities voted as did the population as a whole. (Ibid.)
- 11% — How much lower voter turnout is among people with disabilities than among the typically abled. ("Sidelined or Mainstreamed? Political Participation and Attitudes of People with Disabilities in the United States," Shur, et al., Rutgers Univ., [PDF])
KosAbility is a community diary series posted at 5 PM ET every Sunday and Wednesday by volunteer diarists. This is a gathering place for people who are living with disabilities, who love someone with a disability, or who want to know more about the issues surrounding this topic. There are two parts to each diary. First, a volunteer diarist will offer their specific knowledge and insight about a topic they know intimately. Then, readers are invited to comment on what they've read and/or ask general questions about disabilities, share something they've learned, tell bad jokes, post photos, or rage about the unfairness of their situation. Our only rule is to be kind; trolls will be spayed or neutered.
The figures cited above are based largely on data relating to the 2008 presidential election, and since the GOP has made significant advances in their voter suppression efforts between then and now, may well be conservative estimates regarding the potential impact on this year's race. The Voter ID laws, in particular, are likely to have a wildly disproportionate effect in terms of the disenfranchisement of people with disabilities, many more of whom have given up their driving privileges, and thus their picture i.d., than can even be estimated. (I was unable to find any figures in that regard.)
This is on top of the barriers to voting which remain due to lack of transportation to the polls, and inaccessibility of as many as a third of all polling places in violation of various state and federal laws. (The Voting Rights Project of Equip for Equality, an Illinois quasi-governmental advocacy agency, has a handy summary of the applicable federal election laws: "What Laws Protect Me from Discrimination and Lack of Access in Voting?").
In some states, antiquated laws are still on the books which seek to bar people with cognitive disabilities from voting altogether, often using such offensive terms as "feeble minded," or "idiots." The extent to which these are still employed is largely unknown, but lest we be too complacent, you might want to consider the implications of this story in the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune: "Should All the Disabled have Voting Rights?" That such a question could even be asked in 2012 astounds me, let alone that efforts to bar developmentally disabled people from casting ballots could gain any transaction whatsoever in this century.
So, here's what I think we need to do:
- Increase Outreach Efforts — Even a cursory review of the records and platforms of the two major parties on disability issues makes the choice for people living with a disability fairly obvious to most. The Rutgers study cited above indicates that parties and campaigns are less likely to even contact disabled individuals, let alone court them as an important demographic. That needs to change.
- Employ Targeted GOTV — Let's "rock" the disabled vote! If people with disabilities have transportation issues, GOTV efforts should include getting them in particular to the polls. Registration drives should include specific training and materials to help this demographic overcome i.d. and other barriers.
- Implement Watchdogging and Reporting — Party and campaign pollwatchers and volunteers need to be made fluent in the polling place accessibility laws, equipped to challenge election officials when they are violating them, and when necessary, report such violations to the DOJ.
It is morally unacceptable for a democratic society to allow disenfranchisement of as many as ten million voters due to their disability.
In an election cycle where so much is at stake, and margins could end up being thin, it's also just plain dumb for us to ignore this demographic and its ability to tip the scales.