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Voters Want Access, Privacy: How DontBlockMyVote.org Is Helping Real People Who Want to Vote

In only one month DontBlockMyVote.org, the national United Cerebral Palsy campaign for equal access to the polls, has generated over 9,700 letters to Congress asking for full funding for the Help America Vote Act of 2002. More than 2000 have also signed up to be UCP E-Champions, who receive regular emails from UCP and are called to act on key issues.

Despite the campaign great success, there is a lot of work still to be done.

"While we advocate for greater accessibility to the polls, we still have a lot of hard work ahead to get out the vote in November," says Daryn Demeritt, the UCP DontBlockMyVote.org campaign manager.

Using the DontBlockMyVote.org Web site, affiliates can register to vote consumers, friends, staff, and family members using the online registration tool created in partnership with Rock the Vote. And you certainly don’t have to be a person with a disability to send a letter to Congress, sign up as a UCP E-Champions, or register to vote.

Voters with Disabilities Share Their Personal Stories

Several courageous self-advocates have shared their personal stories about trying to vote when polling places, voting machines, and ballots are often inaccessible to people with disabilities.

Joey Perez, UCP of New York City Consumer
When Joey Perez, a 44-year-old UCP of NYC consumer with cerebral palsy, first tried to vote he was turned away. The polling place was inaccessible to Joey’s wheelchair, and poll workers wouldn’t allow an assistant to facilitate voting outside the New York City polling place.

Poll workers gave Joey an absentee ballot and sent him on his way, damaging his dignity in the process. In the years since, Joey has only voted by absentee ballot.

Carol Francisco, President of the Middle Tennessee Council of the Blind
In the area where Carol Francisco lives in Tennessee, there are no accessible voting machines. Like may people with a visual impairment, she has always had to trust someone to read her the ballot choices and to cast her vote for her. She can never personally verify how her ballot was completed. Also, she loses her right to cast a vote in private, as anyone within earshot can hear how she’s voting.

Carol Francisco is a medial transcriber who works from home and is a volunteer leader for the Middle Tennessee Council of the Blind. She is member of the state committee that is overseeing the implementation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

Deborah Miles, California Disability Voting Rights Advocate
When Deborah Miles tried to vote in Long Beach, California, in 2000, she couldn’t even get in the front door. To get into the polling place with her wheelchair, she had to navigate around to the back of the school and call over a playground monitor to unlock a gate.

Through the gate, Deborah entered the polling area through a back door and proceeded to the registration table. Because there were no accessible voting machines, Deborah had to vote with the assistance of her 11-year-old daughter at the registration table in plain view of dozens of other voters who were waiting in line.

Deborah was born with arthrogryposis, a severe form of arthritis that affects the main joints in the body and constricts the growth of muscles. She uses an electric wheelchair for mobility and uses her mouth to work and do most daily tasks.

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