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Legislation across the country would restrict voting methods and accommodations that people with disabilities are disproportionately likely to rely on.
The experience was so demeaning that Susie Angel did not vote again for two decades.
It was 1991, she recalled, and she was a 21-year-old learning to live independently with cerebral palsy, which she has had since birth. She waited in line at her polling place in Austin, Texas, for hours. Then she waited for a poll worker who could help her complete her ballot. Finally, the worker refused to take her aside, making her name her preferred candidates in full view and earshot of other voters.
Ms. Angel, who has limited use of her limbs and a speech impairment and uses a foot-operated power wheelchair, left understanding that, unlike other Americans, she couldn’t vote privately. It was only when she began working for the Coalition of Texans With Disabilities in 2010, and learned about the adaptive equipment available to her, that she was able to vote independently — an experience that brought her to tears.
Now, Ms. Angel is watching the Texas Legislature pursue sweeping voting restrictions, afraid that she and others with disabilities might again be deterred from voting.
What more vulnerable population of voters to target than those who require assistance to reach their polling places and cast their ballots. The previous President may be gone, but we're seeing a tidal wave of voter suppression legislation which carries the threat of washing away every voting population which the GOP is afraid will vote against them in future elections.
It’s going beyond suppress, it’s basically target and cancel the vote! If your black, if your brown, if your different abled, these cowards don’t give a fuck about democracy! We need to make sure we turn out at 10 times more then before.
Are there organizations that are advocating for the voting rights of people with Accessibility needs? We should reach out and support a few, create some awareness?
More examples of the legislation's effects are how its will further restrict the people who can qualify to aide voters at the polls, bans drive-thru voting, and allows poll watchers to record and submit video of supposed wrongdoing. We've seen this type of legislation pass in several states, including Georgia Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky and Montana. The Republicans are targeting voters with disabilities because they comprise such a significant amount of a state's voting population. Amendments to the Voting Rights Act that these states' lawmakers need to uphold include the one supporting voters with disabilities in 1982, and the "Motor Voter" law in 1993.