Six years after Congress passed the Help America Vote Act to clear physical hurdles for voters who need walkers, wheelchairs, or are unsteady, a study of accessibility at polling places in one Ohio County found that voters with disabilities may still be unable to get to the ballot box.

Occupational Therapy Researchers at The Ohio State University, who conducted what is believed to be the nation’s first comprehensive study of voter accessibility, found that only ten percent of the polling places were fully accessible. The study looked at 217 of the 533 polling sites in Franklin County, Ohio.

There are approximately 18 million Americans who have difficulty with mobility who might be impacted by inaccessible voting locations. Attorneys General in many states and the Department of Justice have been working with local boards of election to increase voter access to polling locations.

Voters with disabilities are left with the option of voting by absentee ballot, which contradicts the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Help America Vote legislation.
 
“Like all civil rights legislation, the core purpose of the ADA is equal participation in society. While absentee ballots may preserve your rights, nothing says more about your status as a citizen than casting your vote at the polls on Election Day,” said L. Scott Lissner, ADA Coordinator at The Ohio State University.

The Ohio State University’s Division of Occupational Therapy partnered with the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office, the Franklin County Board of Elections, and the Ohio Legal Rights Service to evaluate the accessibility of sites where Franklin County residents vote. Physical accessibility was evaluated for parking and drop off areas, entrances, hallways, ramps, elevators, and the voting and registration areas.

Areas of non-compliance include:

     22% of polling sites do not have an entrance that is fully accessible
     49% of polling sites do not have at least one parking space for a wheelchair van
     2% of polling sites have at least one stair that a person must climb before entering the
          polling site.

The Ohio Secretary of State’s office provides money for county boards of elections to use to make temporary changes to assist voters with disabilities on Election Day. These changes include adding additional accessible parking spaces with appropriate signage and cones, or adding temporary ramps and adapted door handles. Another easy modification is to prop open doors that do not have automatic openers on them for voters who use wheelchairs or walkers.

Contact: Dennis S. Cleary, MS, OTR/L
614-292-8145
cleary.26@osu.edu