Thinking back to the spring 2019 election, it was extremely difficult to vote.
Spring in Wisconsin means snowy weather and ice.
And since I don't drive, I had to take my, drive my wheelchair there.
It didn't have sidewalk all the way and even the sidewalk that it did have
really wasn't friendly for use for my wheelchair. So I was like, 'well,
I guess I got to drive down the middle of the street to get to my polling
location.' So I did
these bills that have made their way through the legislature are really a
reflection of attitudinal barriers that are endangering the
rights of people with disabilities to vote.
In terms of access to voting, historically,
people with disabilities are underrepresented at the ballot box
because they do face a lot of barriers.
Since the 2020 election at the state level,
we've seen a wave of bills moving forward,
not only in Wisconsin,
but in many states that would restrict and suppress the rights of many
voters, including voters with disabilities.
In the 2018 election,
we began to get calls from voters with disabilities who
were having some problems because of that requirement.
The most egregious one that I can recall was a young man in Madison.
He'd recently moved back to Wisconsin. Um, he'd voted in other states,
went to vote in Wisconsin and he was told
if you don't speak your name and address, we're not giving you a ballot. Well,
he was deaf. Um, you know, he doesn't speak aloud.
He uses ASL to communicate and the poll worker was not
accepting that. And not satisfied with that.
When thinking about voting as an individual with a disability,
it's certainly a fundamental, right. It's a right,
that is constitutionally protected,
but it's one that has historically not been easily granted.
And we find ourselves continuing to have to fight for it.
Wisconsin is comprised of a lot of rural small town communities that don't have
access to public transportation.
That makes it difficult to get to a polling place.
Well,
actually there's a lot of folks who don't have driver's license and it's really
common within the disability community. So then, you know,
there's the thought of, okay, well what about just getting a state ID? Well,
to get a state ID,
you still got to go to the DMV because he can't apply for a state ID online.
So, okay. If you don't drive, how do you get to the DMV?
It's not just as simple as, oh, go get your driver's license or just, oh,
go get your state ID. And you're, you're, you're set to go.
The bills, you know, suggested that only, you know,
a family member, um, or one designated person could,
could return the ballot. Um, and, and, you know, to,
to violate that would result in severe, uh,
criminal charges.
It seems to operate on this premise that somehow people with disabilities just
have folks waiting at their beck and call to sort of just
help where that family is just always available. To me,
that is just indicative of a, of a sense of paternalism,
um, and, and ableism,
and really doubting the individual to be able to exercise their
own right to vote however, they, they choose.
Voting is truly a cornerstone of our democracy.
And if you're not at the table, you're on the menu.
And people with disabilities have so much at stake in terms of
who is elected and the policies that they put forward.
They have more reliance in many cases than most
voters do on, uh,
the decisions that our state legislatures or congressional representatives make.
And I think it's essential that they have a voice in that process.
Disability doesn't care, whether you're Republican Democrat,
libertarian, independent. It, it doesn't matter.
This is about making sure that if you are a person with a
disability, your right to vote is protected.