More interest expected in the 2024 elections
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first installment of our blog that will deal with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act and compliance issues. The bi-weekly content will focus on Civil Rights and equal participation in the area. Topics will include: Transportation, Paratransit, Fair housing Communication, Deinstitutionalization and Disability Rights.
By Tim Wheat
First, we want to know if you had any accessibility issues with the polls. You may have voted at an early voting site, at your polling site on election day or voted by absentee ballot. Disability Connection wants to hear about your experience.
If you are not registered to vote, now may be the time to register for the elections coming up in 2024. There is a Presidential preference primary on March 5, 2024 and the Primary on August 1. The general election will be November 5, 2024.
The most effective way you can make sure your vote counts in 2024 is to check your voter registration now. In Tennessee you must have to be registered 30 days before the election. Disability Connection can help you to check your registration, or you can check online: tnmap.tn.gov/voterlookup/
At each polling site, Disability Rights Tennessee posts their phone number 1-800-342-1660 if you face any discrimination or barriers based on a disability. Disability Connection would like to hear from you what would help you to get to the polls. We can be a valuable and important part of the election process:
There are over ONE MILLION voters with disabilities in Tennessee.
19.4% of registered voters in Tennessee have a disability. That is about 1 in 5 voters.
People with disabilities at a LOWER RATE than non-disabled voters in Tennessee.
Rutgers University found that nationally, if people with disabilities voted at the same rate as people without disabilities who have the same demographic characteristics, there would be about 1.75 million more voters.
The Rutgers study found that some of the lower turnout of people with disabilities is tied to difficulties in voting. A national survey sponsored by the U.S. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) following the 2020 elections found that 11% of voters with disabilities had some type of difficulty in voting, which was almost twice the rate of 6% among voters without disabilities.
As a positive note, the same survey found that voting accessibility appears to have improved: the likelihood of voting difficulties decreased from 26% in 2012 to 11% in 2020 among voters with disabilities. In 2020 the rate of difficulties among voters with disabilities was 18% among those voting in a polling place, and 5% among those voting with a mail ballot.
A barrier that some people may have, but do not report on a survey is that they do not have a photo ID. Even if your name is in the pollbook, all voters in Tennessee must have a state or federal picture identification. Most common is a Tennessee drivers license, but you may also use a Tennessee Photo ID or US Passport. A complete list of acceptable identification is at the Tennessee website: https://sos.tn.gov/elections/voter-id-requirements
Only a court can take away your right to vote. You do not have to explain why you need help voting at the polls and you may ask for an accessible voting machine. If you ask for help, you may choose the person to help you vote or you may have a poll worker to help you.
Tennessee is ranked first in the US for election integrity by the Heritage Foundation. If you would like to be more involved in the election you may become a poll worker, check your voter registration or get voting information at www.govotetn.gov.
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