People with Disabilities: Use Our Checklist to Make Sure Your Voice is Heard at the Polls

How can I vote by mail?

When We All Vote: Vote By Mail, Explained

NPR: How to Make Sure You Cast Your Ballot in November (Vote By Mail Tips)

How can I learn about voting and elections in my area?

AAPD: Voter Resource Center

AARP: How to Vote By State

What are my rights as a voter with a disability?

    Federal laws require that all Americans have the same opportunity to participate in the voting process.
    Voting resource card for the election polls

    Download our voting resource card to take with you to the polls!

    Print our voting resource card to take with you to the polls. If you have trouble accessing the polls, please contact the appropriate number(s) listed on the card. Download here.

    A voter with a disability has the right to:

  • Vote privately and independently
  • Have an accessible polling place with voting machines for voters with disabilities
  • Wheelchair-accessible voting booths
  • Entrances and doorways that are at least 32 inches wide
  • Handrails on all stairs
  • Voting equipment that is accessible to voters who are blind or who have low vision
  • Bring your service animal with you into your polling place
  • Seek assistance from workers at the polling place who have been trained to use the accessible voting machine, or
  • Bring someone to help you vote (including a friend, family member, caregiver, assisted living provider, or almost anyone else).

What if my rights as a voter with a disability are being violated?

If you experience any problems accessing the polls on election day contact:

Is it too late to register to vote? How Can I Prepare?

  • Revup and easterseals logosRegister to vote — There's still time! State deadlines can be found here.
  • Register to vote online at www.aapd.com/REVUP
  • Learn about voting restrictions in your state with AARP's voting tool
  • Study up the voter ID laws in your state.VoteRiders has created wallet-cards with the ID requirements for each state. Find them here. You can also contact their Voter ID Hotline at 1-844-338-8743.
  • Identify your polling place – VOTE411.org offers a tool to locate your polling place based on the address where you are registered to vote.
  • Consider voting absentee – learn more about rules and guidelines here.
  • Consider participating in early voting, if offered in your area – This early voting chart lists time frames for those states that offer early voting.
  • Check out this SMS Tool - The Voting Information Project supports a SMS Tool that provides voters with election information via text message. By texting "VOTE" or "VOTO" to GOVOTE (468-683), voters can find polling places, contact information for local election officials, and registration URLs. The app is available in multiple languages.
  • Reach out to your local election officialsto learn about other options available to you:
    • "Curbside voting," in which a poll worker brings all voting materials to your car.
    • Mobile polling places at long-term care facilities.
    • Transportation to the polls and help identifying the accessibility of polling places.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing

  • National Association of the Deaf – ALS Voter Hotline
  • SignVote, a Deaf and Hard of Hearing community-based Voter GOTV mobilization effort.

Blind and Low Vision

Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Mobility

For more information on the Voting Rights Act (VRA), Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (VAEHA), National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), and Help America Vote Act (HAVA) please visit the Department of Justice's Voting Section website: www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/

Be sure to check out AAPD's REV UP Campaign

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