“Voters with disabilities face very real barriers to the ballot and a critical piece of removing those obstacles is emphasizing that voters know they have the right to vote, regardless of their disability,” said Mike Brickner, State Director of All Voting is Local Ohio. “People may not realize that the law requires election officials to offer assistance and accommodations to any voter who needs it.”
Disability Rights Ohio is mandated by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (PL 107-252) to advocate for the rights of Ohio voters with disabilities and to assist the Secretary of State in fulfilling the Secretary’s obligations to those voters under the federal law. Through this program, Disability Rights Ohio:
- educates individuals, communities, poll workers and boards of election about the voting rights of people with disabilities;
- monitors and investigates complaints about polling place accessibility and privacy;
- collaborates with other voting rights advocates for systemic change for people with disabilities;
- participates in the implementation of provisions of the Help America Vote Act affecting people with disabilities; and
- assists and represents individual voters in state-based administrative grievance processes.
Resources
The Ohio Secretary of State’s voter resource page: MyOhioVotes.com
Forms to request to use Ohio’s remote absentee ballot marking tool for voters with vision impairments and other print disabilities: PDF version | HTML version
Individuals with Disabilities and Voting: The Glancy Consent Order
Is Your Polling Place Accessible?
Registering to Vote: Frequently Asked Questions
Voting Rights: Frequently Asked Questions (February 2016)
