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Help America Vote Act (HAVA)
After all the problems in Florida during the last presidential election, Congress passed a law to improve access to voting for all Americans. The law, referred to as HAVA for Help America Vote Act, has important implications for voters with disabilities. Michigan is eligible to receive approximately $45 million this fiscal year with an estimated $33 million in additional grant funds coming over the next two fiscal years. The federal funding will allow Michigan to replace outdated voting equipment. It will also help to improve access for voters with disabilities and those who are living outside the country, including military personnel stationed overseas.
In response to the federal legislation, the state of Michigan is applying for federal funds to help cover the cost of compliance. As a result of this federal law, Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land and Bureau of Elections chief Chris Thomas have been working with local officials and an advisory committee. One of the areas the committee has addressed is ways to improve accessibility at the polls and to educate voter and poll workers. As part of this process, the Secretary of State's office has developed a plan to comply with HAVA, and public comments were welcomed at their website, http://www.michigan.gov/sos until July 17. {At the web site, select "Elections in Michigan" then at the next page, select "Help America Vote Act".} After the public comment period, the State Plan will be revised as necessary and submitted to Washington, D.C. for publication in the Federal Register for a 45-day period.
How does HAVA affect you, in your local area? Adjunct professor of law Hollister Bundy, in an article in the Election Law Journal, Volume 2 Number 2* points out that there's more to accessible voting than accessible machines. Many polling places are inaccessible to voters with mobility impairments. Barriers abound: ramps leading to locked doors, doors with hard-to-manipulate doorknobs, no automatic door opener or even a doorbell to alert officials of the need to get in, doors too narrow for voters who use wheelchairs, etc. Worst of all, research shows that election officials tend to be unaware of these barriers and persist in their belief that a polling place is fully accessible as long as there is a no-step entry somewhere in the building! *(You may also address requests for the full article to Hollister Bundy at hbundy@inclusionsolutions.com)
Polling places are inaccessible to voters due to discrimination also. For example, poll workers can sometimes deter people from voting when they question the right to vote of someone with a real or presumed cognitive disability or a mental illness label.
What can you do to help? Here are some suggestions:
- Learn more! For more information on voting, see http://www.copower.org/tools/vote.htm
- Contact your local official it could be the City or County Clerk in your area. See what they are doing to make sure your area polling places are accessible. The American Association of People with Disabilities has a great polling place accessibility guide available on their web site at: http://www.aapd.com/dvpmain/pollaccess/dvppollaccess.html. Call MDRC if you need help getting this document.
- Work with a local disability group to educate people with disabilities about voting rights. Your group can contact your local official to see what they are doing to ensure the uniform and nondiscriminatory treatment of voters.
Making polling places more accessible is a project in the areas of universal design and assistive technology. Your community group could apply for Grass Roots Education and Empowerment Network support! If lack of funding or know-how keeps you from contacting your local official, consider applying for a GREEN grant.
Are you working with others in your community to increase opportunities and access for people with disabilities?
Would it help to talk with new people who have been successful in making changes?
Would additional funding for your efforts help?
Applications for support of short-term projects that increase access to Assistive Technology information, devices and services are now available. For more information, contact MDRC or visit www.copower.org/At/green.htm .
