GAO Report Shows Disabled Are Denied Voting Access; 57 Percent of Voting Jurisdictions Report Problems for Voters with Disabilities
16 Oct 15:36
WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 /U.S. Newswire/
-- A report requested by top lawmakers in Congress and released yesterday
from the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) has found that 57 percent
of voting jurisdictions experienced problems conducting the 2000 federal
elections. These problems included widespread inaccessibility for people
in wheelchairs or with vision or hearing impairments. The GAO has been
investigating the voting barriers since the beginning of this year.
"The GAO's report is hardly news
to the millions of Americans with disabilities. We have been struggling
for years to get local election officials to give us adequate access to
polling places," said Jim Dickson of the Disability Vote Project for the
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD).
"Over one half of all polling places
in America are not fully accessible to people in wheelchairs," continued
Dickson. "And for the 10 million blind and low vision Americans, exercising
the right to vote does not currently include casting an independent secret
ballot."
Prior to yesterday's GAO report release,
a coalition of groups including AAPD, the National Organization on Disability,
the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association and the Blinded Veterans of
America began class-action lawsuits against the cities of Washington, D.C.
and Philadelphia, Pa. Those lawsuits ask city officials to purchase and
begin using accessible voting machines. The coalition of groups has found
that jurisdictions such as Harris County, Texas, the nation's third largest
county, have already put accessible voting systems in place.
"We cannot afford to have our voting
apparatus randomly discriminate or to have our voting system appear to
breakdown for some Americans," said Dickson.
"Every eligible American has the
right to vote and to have that vote counted regardless of disability or
the financial resources of the community in which they live. Americans
with disabilities should not have to sue every jurisdiction just to exercise
the right to vote," said Dickson. "Disabled Americans are counting on Congress
to make voting accessible to all eligible voters before the 2002 elections."
The American Association of People
with Disabilities' (AAPD) mission is to advance the political and economic
power of all people with disabilities. Visit the AAPD website at http://www.aapd-dc.org.
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U.S. Newswire