ABSTRACT

The goal of this study was to examine the barriers and facilitators surrounding the voting process as experienced by persons with disabilities.  Methods included semi-structured interviews and structured observations of polling sites, conducted both independently and while accompanying voters to the polls.  We interviewed 41 persons who voted in-person, 4 persons who voted absentee, and 4 persons who had not voted in at least 5 years.  Facilitators and barriers were broken down into three major categories:  1) social environment, 2) pre-election information, and 3) physical environment.  Results revealed three broad problems: ignorance about how to interact with individuals with disabilities in the context of the voting process; problems with voting technology design; and inaccessible features of the built environment, which effectively marginalizes voters with disabilities