Outline
The Disability Vote in the November 2000 Presidential Election
Turnout
Harris Interactive's data (from the final Harris Poll conducted by telephone immediately
before the election) suggests that 41% of Americans with disabilities voted compared to
51% of all adults. In other words, people with disabilities were 20% less likely to vote
than were all adults.
The same calculation in 1996 indicated that only 31% of adults with disabilities voted in
the presidential election then, when 49% of all adults voted.
These percentages translate into an increase from about 11 million voters with
disabilities in 1996 to about 14 million in 2000.
How They Voted
Harris Interactive's data from the two final Harris telephone surveys, which correctly
predicted that Governor Bush and Vice President Gore would receive the same share of the
vote (the final count was 48% - 48%), indicates that Gore won the disability vote by an
18-point margin. The final numbers or voters with disabilities were:
Al Gore 56%
George W. Bush 38%
Ralph Nader 4%
Other candidates 1%
Was Disability a Factor in Deciding How to Vote?
A Harris Interactive telephone survey in September 2000 found that 48% of people with
disabilities think of themselves "a lot" as a "person with a health
condition or disability" when it comes to politics and voting.
Fully 23% of people with disabilities say that they think of themselves primarily as
people with disabilities when thinking about politics and voting. This was the most
important group with which people with disabilities identify when thinking about politics
and voting – more important than their party identification, race or gender.
What If Turnout Had Been Higher or Lower
Had more or fewer people with disabilities voted in the same ratios, the results would
have been very different. If people with disabilities had voted with the same turnout as
the rest of the public (i.e. 51% turnout instead of 41%), Al Gore's margin of victory in
the popular vote would have been between 1 million and 1-1/2 million. Had this happened
uniformly across the country he would surely have won Florida and would now be president.
Had only 31% of people with disabilities voted as they did in 1996, George W. Bush would
have won with a clear margin in Florida and would probably have won the popular vote by a
small margin of less than half a million.
There Is a Problem with How Votes Are Cast and Counted
According to a Harris survey conducted in December 2000, Americans with disabilities (95%)
were even more likely than the general public (86%) to believe that we have a serious
problem with how votes are cast and counted. While this surely reflects the problems of
voting and counting in Florida, this is a particularly acute problem for many voters with
disabilities who could not use the voting systems, in privacy, without assistance, in
2000.
GAO Report: Voters with Disabilities - Access to Polling Places and
Alternative Voting Methods
On November 14, the General Accounting Office released a report (GAO-02-107) on polling
place and voting equipment accessibility for Americans with disabilities. The report
examines state and local laws ensuring accessibility, the proportion of accessible and
inaccessible voting sites around the country, and challenges to overcome in improving
voter access in the future.
Notable Facts from the Report:
Disability Considerations in the Help America Vote Act
(HAVA)
P.L. 107-252
Key disability issues in the voting process:
How does HAVA address these issues?
Overview of HAVA – main titles and provisions:
Title I – Early Payments to States for Election Administration Improvements and Replacement of Antiquated Voting Machines
Authorizes $325 million for buyout of punch card and lever voting machines.
Authorizes $325 million in payments to states to improve election administration.
Each state is guaranteed to receive at least $5 million under Title I.
Title II – Election Assistance Commission
Establishes the Election Assistance Commission, a new federal agency consisting of two (2) Republican and two (2) Democratic appointees.
The Commission serves as a clearinghouse for election administration information, carries out grant programs, provides for the certification and testing of voting systems, and studies election issues.
The Commission has no rule-making authority but will issue voluntary guidance for the requirements of Title III.
Title II authorizes appropriations for the following:
Requirements Payments
$3 billion for meeting the requirements of Title III, providing poll worker training, voter education and improving the administration of federal elections. (FY ‘03: $1.5 billion, FY ‘04: $800 million)
Accessibility Grants
$100 million is available for state and units of local government to remove barriers and increase access to voters with disabilities. (FY ‘03 Appropriation:$13 million. FY ‘04 Appropriation: $10 million)
Research Grants
Provides $20 million for research and development to improve voting technology.
Pilot Program Grants
$10 million is authorized for pilot programs to test new voting systems, including researching the accessibility of voting equipment.
Protection and Advocacy Systems (P&A)
$40 million over the next four years for a Voting P&A for individuals with disabilities. Sets aside 7% of the funds appropriated under this section to be used by eligible entities to provide training and technical assistance.
(FY ’03 appropriation: $2 million, FY ’04 $5 million)
Title III – Requirements Section
Each state must:
Provide voters an opportunity to check and correct errors in their ballots in a private and independent manner.
Have a voting system with a manual audit capacity.
Provide at least one voting machine that is accessible to all individuals with disabilities at each polling place by January 1, 2006.
Provide alternative language accessibility pursuant to the Voting Rights Act.
Title IV – Enforcement
Department of Justice (DOJ) may seek injunctive or declaratory relief for violations of the Act.
Each state that receives funds under the Act must establish an administrative grievance procedure for voting complaints. States that do not accept funds under the Act must either establish a grievance procedure or submit a compliance plan with DOJ.
Title V – Help America Vote College Program
Authorizes $5 million to establish a program to encourage college students to serve as non -partisan poll workers and to encourage state and local governments to utilize the resources that students provide.
Title VI – Help America Vote Foundation
Establishes a federally chartered corporation of a charitable and non-profit nature, whose purpose is to mobilize and place secondary school students to participate in the election process in a non-partisan manner as poll workers or assistants.
Title VII – Overseas and Military Voting
Contains provisions to improve ballot access for military and overseas voters.
Title VIII – Transition Provisions
Transfer functions of Federal Election Commission to the new Election Administration Commission
Title IX - Miscellaneous
Authorizes Commission to conduct special audits of entities receiving funds under the Act.
Provides criminal penalties for election fraud.
Disability provisions are found in three parts of the law:
"Requirements" Provisions
Voting Systems Standards, sec. 301(a)
Each polling place must have "at least one direct recording electronic voting system or other voting system equipped for individuals with disabilities" by January 1, 2006. The voting system must "be accessible for individuals with disabilities, including nonvisual accessibility for the blind and visually impaired, in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation (including privacy and independence) as for other voters." Federal funding is 95%. The state must provide 5%.
By January 1, 2006, all voting systems must provide for "second chance" voting. The system must allow the voter to privately and independently a) verify her votes on the ballot, b) provide the opportunity to correct any error (through issuance of a replacement ballot if necessary), and c) be notified and have the opportunity to correct an "overvote" (casting too many votes for a particular office, usually more than one vote).
Provisional Voting Requirements, Sec 302 (a)
By January 1, 2004, every state must provide a provisional ballot to any person who declares they are: a) registered to vote and b) eligible to vote in a federal election. Even if she is not on the voter list or her eligibility is challenged, she must be offered a provisional ballot.
A state must have a system to determine whether to count each provisional ballot cast. The decision to count or not count an individual ballot must be made "in accordance with State law."
Election officials must establish a system to notify a voter who cast a provisional ballot whether it was counted, and if not, why not. At a minimum, there must be "a free access system (such as a toll-free telephone number or an Internet website) that any individual who casts a provisional ballot may access to discover whether the vote of that individual was counted, and, if the vote was not counted, the reason that the vote was not counted." At the polling place, the voter must be given written instructions on how to obtain that information.
Voting Information Requirements. Sec 302 (b)
After January 1, 2004, voting information must be posted at every polling place on election day, including:
- a sample of the ballot used for that election,
- instructions on how to vote, including how to cast a vote and how to cast a provisional ballot,
- instructions for mail-in registrants and first-time voters (see other sections),
- general information on voting rights under applicable federal and state laws, including information on the right of an individual to cast a provisional ballot,
- instructions on how to contact the appropriate officials if these rights have been violated, and
- general information on federal and state laws prohibiting fraud and misrepresentation.
Voter Registration Requirements, Section 303
Identification Requirements When Registering to Vote (Title III, Sec. 303(a)(5))
A state may not accept or process any voter registration application unless it includes: 1) the applicant's driver's license number or, if the registrant doesn't have a current and valid driver's license, 2) the last four digits of the applicant's Social Security Number. For voters who do not have either of the above numbers, the state must assign a unique number to identify the voter for registration purposes. It is up to the state to determine "whether the information provided by an individual is sufficient to meet the requirements . . . in accordance with State law."
The chief state election official and the state motor vehicle authority must enter into an agreement to match information in their databases "to verify the accuracy of the information provided on applications for voter registration."
Identification for First-Time Voters Who Register by Mail
A citizen who registers by mail and either, 1) has not previously voted in an election in the state, or 2) has not previously voted in a jurisdiction in a state that does not yet have a statewide computerized voter registration list, must present: 1) a current and valid photo identification; or 2) a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter. Voters who do not present ID must be permitted to cast a provisional ballot (but whether the vote will count is determined by the provisional ballot system). (If a first-time voter casts her vote by mail, she must submit a copy of one of the documents with the ballot.)
Poll Worker Training and Recruitment
States must put training systems in place for poll workers and other election officials to ensure uniform and nondiscriminatory treatment of voters in determining:
a) who is offered a provisional ballot,
b) whose provisional ballots are counted,
c) how "second-chance" voting works,
d) who may provide assistance to voters in the polling booth,
e) who is asked for identification at the polls,
f) what forms of identification are accepted at the polls,
g) what forms of identification are accepted upon registration,
h) how registration applications are processed and approved,
i) how voters' names are removed from the list because of ineligibility or duplication, and
j) how voter education requirements are carried out.
Requirements Payments and State Plans
Requirements payments are funds made available to meet the requirements of Title III.
To be eligible to receive a Requirements Payment, states must submit a State Plan and pass enabling legislation
The State Plan is to be developed through a committee of "appropriate individuals," which includes "…stakeholders (including representatives of groups of individuals with disabilities)…"
The plan must be made available for public inspection and then submitted to the Election Assistance Commission.
Each State Plan is published in the Federal Register.
By this time all state plans have been developed and state enabling legislation has been passed.
Current holdup: Election Assistance Commission was not established until December of 2003, is underfunded, has not released large amounts of funds to states.
Accessibility Grants, Title II, Section 261
Congress appropriated $13 million for States in FY ’03 and an additional $10 million in FY ’04 to operate the Election Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities (EAID) grant program. HAVA assigned responsibility for carrying out this program to the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD).
Only states and territories are Eligible Applicants, not local units of government (appropriation too low).
Section 261 of HAVA provides that funds be made available to:
a. Make polling places, including the path of travel, entrances, exits, and voting areas of each polling facility, accessible to individuals with the full range of disabilities (e.g., blindness or visual impairment, deafness or hearing impairment, mobility-related, dexterity-related, emotional, or intellectual).
b. Provide the same opportunity for access and participation (including privacy and independence) to individuals with the full range of disabilities.
c. Train election officials, poll workers, and election volunteers on how best to promote the access and participation of individuals with the full range of disabilities in elections for Federal office.
d. Provide individuals with the full range of disabilities with information about the accessibility of polling places.
FY 2003 State allotments
Alabama 185,341
Alaska 100,000
American Samoa 100,000
Arizona 209,686
Arkansas 109,029
California 1,371,756
Colorado 178,308
Connecticut 142,841
Delaware 100,000
District of Columbia 100,000
Florida 687,278
Georgia 335,237
Guam 100,000
Hawaii 100,000
Idaho 100,000
Illinois 511,102
Indiana 251,048
Iowa 122,161
Kansas 110,057
Kentucky 169,755
Louisiana 181,021
Maine 100,000
Maryland 219,527
Massachusetts 270,154
Michigan 409,083
Minnesota 202,382
Mississippi 115,296
Missouri 232,185
Montana 100,000
Nebraska 100,000
Nevada 100,000
New Hampshire 100,000
New Jersey 352,485
New Mexico 100,000
New York 795,936
North Carolina 339,029
North Dakota 100,000
Oregon 143,454
Ohio 471,600
Oklahoma 142,530
Pennsylvania 521,409
Puerto Rico 151,345
Rhode Island 100,000
South Carolina 167,271
South Dakota 100,000
Tennessee 240,958
Texas 833,749
Utah 100,000
Vermont 100,000
Virginia 297,522
Washington 244,039
West Virginia 100,000
Wisconsin 185,426
Wyoming 100,000
---------------
Total 13,000,000
FY 2004 grant awards have not gone out to the states as of yet. Since the appropriated amount was reduced to $10 million, states will receive different amounts in 2004. A greater number of states will receive the minimum allotment of $100,000. States that fall above the minimum will have their grants reduced based on the formula.
Protection and Advocacy Grants, Title II, Section 291
In FY 2003, Congress appropriated $2 million for payments for Protection and Advocacy Systems. An additional $5 million was appropriated in FY’04. The Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) is responsible for the administration of the P&A grant program.
The Protection and Advocacy System of each State and Territory under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 is the eligible entity to receive funds.
Section 291 of HAVA provides that funds be made available to the Protection and Advocacy System of each State and Territory to ensure full participation in the electoral process for individuals with disabilities, including registering to vote, casting a vote, and accessing polling places. Grant funds are for the purpose of providing services to individuals with disabilities within the State, as well as education and advocacy that ensure the full participation of individuals with disabilities in the electoral process.
As provided by Section 292(a), none of the HAVA funds provided to a P&A System may be used to initiate or otherwise participate in any litigation connected to election-related disability access, notwithstanding the general authorities that the P&A Systems are otherwise afforded under subtitle C of Title I of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000.
P&A Systems are strongly encouraged to use the funds to provide education, training and assistance to individuals with disabilities that will promote their participation in the electoral process. Such activities include, but are not limited to, education regarding voter registration, providing individuals with disabilities the opportunity to register to vote, providing education to individuals with disabilities regarding their legal rights pertaining to voting, providing assistance to individuals with disabilities in accessing the polls on Election Day.
P&A Systems may use grant funds to participate in advocacy and education efforts revolving around all HAVA implementation efforts in their State. Such activities may include, but are not limited to, participation on the HAVA State Planning Committee, any subcommittees or coalition efforts regarding the State Plan, review of the work of the Committee, providing comments regarding the State Plan, and review, advocacy, and education concerning the enactment of HAVA State legislation.
P&A Systems may participate in the training and education of election officials, poll workers and election volunteers regarding the rights of the voters with disabilities and best practices in working with individuals with disabilities. Training and education activities may include, but are not limited to, providing training and participating in the development of training and education programs for election officials and poll workers.
P&A Systems may use the grant funds to assist individuals with disabilities in filing complaints under the state-based administrative grievance procedure required by HAVA and to represent individuals with disabilities in any hearings that may be held regarding the complaint.
P&A Systems may provide assistance to States and other governmental entities regarding the physical accessibility of polling places, such as surveying polling places, identifying potential modifications to make specific polling places accessible and developing criteria for identifying accessible polling places.
P&A Systems may use the funds to obtain training and technical assistance on voting issues, including education regarding accessible voting equipment and systems.
As mentioned above, $2 million was appropriated for activities under section 291 in FY 2003. $140,000 was set aside to provide training and technical assistance to the P&A’s and the remaining $1.86 million was distributed by providing approximately $35,000 to each state and $17,500 to each territiory.
$5 million was appropriated in FY 2004. $350,000 will be set aside for technical assistance. Most states will receive $70,000 (some larger states will receive more under the formula for dispersing funds), and territories will receive $35,000.
Ideas for becoming more involved
Review your state plan. Monitor your state election board to document progress on plan objectives.
Meet with your State Elections Board Director to look for opportunities to collaborate.
Find out how to become involved with your state’s ongoing HAVA implementation committee.
Review progress on your state’s implementing legislation, and any amendments/revisions now being contemplated.
Pursue on your own or explore opportunities to collaborate with other disability organizations on:
Voter registration, education, and outreach
Accessibility surveys of local polling places
Poll worker education and training
Vendor fairs for accessible equipment selection
Public awareness campaigns
Candidate forums
Questions to ask about your State’s implementation of HAVA
1. What are some of the priorities for the Secretary of State for spending the main HAVA money they received so far?
2. How is the state going to comply with making the polling places accessible for people with disabilities? How about contracting with various disability organizations throughout the state who will visit all of the polling places, hand-in-hand with election officials, to evaluate and make recommendations?
3. Has there been any consideration of enacting a permanent absentee ballot in order to better accommodate disabled and elderly voters?
4. Does the current legislation ensure that federal funds will not supplant state funds?
5. What is the state’s timeline for developing a statewide voter database?
6. Because of the increasingly complicated election day procedures, and to ensure statewide uniformity, a single set of pollworker training materials should be developed with input from local elections officials and disability advocates. What is the status of your state’s pollworker training plans? How much emphasis will be placed on training poll workers regarding disability issues?
7. What is the current complaint procedure for an aggrieved voter? Does the current legislation/state plan maintain or expand this process to ensure voters’ rights are protected?
8. The identification requirements in HAVA are a minimum and additional forms of identification are allowed. Does the current legislation allow for additional forms of identification to be considered including a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement or a student ID? Has the state considered issuing ID cards that voters can purchase?
Online Election Reform Resources
Department of Justice Polling Place Checklist Guidance. An excellent
resource for evaluating polling place access.
http://www.ada.gov/votingck.htm
Election Reform Information Project. Comprehensive site for in-depth
analysis of many aspects of HAVA.
http://www.electionline.org/index.jsp/
Center for an Accessible Society. Many links and articles on voting
issues.
http://www.accessiblesociety.org/topics/voting/index.htm
The Constitution Project. Interesting site that seeks to reach
bipartisan consensus on controversial legal and constitutional issues, including election
reform.
http://www.constitutionproject.org/
Project on Disability Politics. Kay Schriner articles on a variety of
disability voting issues.
http://www.uark.edu/misc/kays/
American Association for People with Disabilities. Much good
information. AAPD has filed lawsuits in Florida and DC on inaccessible voting technology
and access issues.
http://www.aapd.com/dvpmain/newdvpindex.html
National Organization on Disability. Home page for Jim Dickson materials
on HAVA
http://www.nod.org/political/index.cfm
National Federation of the Blind Model State HAVA legislation
http://www.nfb.org/modelvote.htm
Trace Center site on accessible voting technology
http://trace.wisc.edu/world/kiosks/ez/voting/
Votehere.net Good site for information on ADA compliant voting
technology
http://www.votehere.net/news/archive01/032201a.html
Ragged Edge Magazine. Excellent forst-person accounts of the denial of
the right to vote.
http://www.raggededgemagazine.com/1100/1100votestory.htm
League of Women Voters. The best site for information on voter
involvement campaigns, candidate forums, etc.
http://www.lwv.org/
American Civil Liberties Union. Good information on a variety of voting
rights issues.
http://www.aclu.org/
Rock the Vote. Youth oriented get-out-the vote site.
http://www.rockthevote.com/
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. Good information on HAVA and a
guide for activists on the state level.
http://www.civilrights.org/issues/voting/
National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems. Links to
articles on HAVA and funding.
http://www.napas.org/
National Association of State Elections Directors. Find out information
about your states election commission, director, and progress on HAVA.
http://www.nased.org/
National Association of Secretaries of State. More state-level
information on HAVA
http://www.nass.org/
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