Accessible Voting, Inclusive Politics

by Dora Raymaker · 2009-06-11 16:00:00 UTC
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a white cardboard sign posted on a telephone pole with some green foliage in the background. the sign says 'VOTE' in big blue letters with a big blue arrow under it pointing to the left. a U.S. flag is in the top left corner. 'vote' is also written in small print above the arrows in three additional languages Spanish, an Arabic language, and an Asian (Chinese or Japanese?) languageA piece on voting accessibility issues in Zimbabwe directly covers voting access and indirectly covers the vicious cycle between voting access and inclusion in politics and policy. If people with disabilities are not able to vote, it's less likely that politicians who care about disability issues will be elected, making it less likely again that the voting access issues are corrected.

I am entirely unqualified to make comments about Zimbabwe in particular, but the key issues brought up in the article, in general, are definitely not limited to just Zimbabwe. They are issues that currently exist in the U.S. (and I would assume elsewhere as well).

The National Disability Rights Network has an large section on voting resources, including this excellent overview of voting access barriers for people with mental disabilities. Barriers that are currently an issue in the U.S. range from being required in some areas to prove that one is familiar with the issues, to (my personal "favorite" as it's the one that affects me most) inaccessible language. Untied Cerebral Palsy's Don't Block My Vote campaign also has an extensive resource list.

Some developmental disability organizations provide local training regarding voting in order to enable more people to vote. If no organization provides voter training in your area, it might be good to poke them about it as a valuable community service, both to empower individuals and facilitate self-determination, and to help ensure that disability issues remain key concerns in policy and politics.

Dora Raymaker
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