Extending the Franchise to Citizens with Disabilities

Every vote counts. The secret ballot is the cornerstone of democracy. The right to vote is universal.

These are the absolutes of election rights, and are among the phrases which motivate, even inspire, election workers, who in many nations face daunting challenges as they strive to carry out free and fair elections.

Yet in many elections, these best of intentions rarely extend to or enfranchise citizens with disabilities.

Over the past five years, however, as part of its Global Initiative to Enfranchise Citizens with Disabilities, IFES learned that the electoral rights of disabled citizens can be recognized and championed, even in the most difficult of electoral environments.

With funding primarily from the governments of Finland and Sweden, IFES has worked with grassroots disability organizations, national election commissions, and with international and multilateral democracy organizations to advance the electoral rights of citizens with physical, sensory, mental, and psychiatric disabilities.

This work is chronicled in this inaugural edition of ACE's "Focus On" Series.

In the paragraphs which follow we will:

• Discuss how election laws can discriminate against voters with disabilities;
• Review examples of election practices which create barriers for voters with disabilities;
• Acquaint election authorities with emerging international standards on the electoral rights of disabled citizens;
• Assist election authorities to identify specific strategies to enfranchise voters with different types of disabilities;
• Provide specific examples of model programs in the area of election monitoring; and
• Provide links to experts in disability and electoral access, and links to disability organizations.

Discrimination by Law and Mental Disability

The election laws of most nations establish a criteria that limits the right to vote for people with psychiatric disorders. This criterion varies widely among nations. In some, those determined by court order to be insane cannot vote. In others, the right to vote is lost when a court appoints a legal guardian. In other nations still, the franchise is lost when someone is institutionalized, or even when someone is "known to be insane." No standards govern these laws, which seem subject to stereotypical and outdated views of mental disability.

In consultation with global experts in the fields of disability, election law and practice, and international human rights standards, IFES and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) have developed a "bill of electoral rights for people with disabilities," which argues that election law cannot discriminate against individuals with intellectual or psychiatric disabilities. Further, this "bill of electoral rights" has determined that a test of competency cannot be used to deprive any single individual or group of individuals of the right to vote, unless that same test of competency is applied to each and every citizens.

For additional information on this important topic, see: www.electionaccess.org/rs/Discussion_Paper.htm

Discrimination by Law and the Secret Ballot:

The right to vote in secret is a cornerstone of democracy, and is recognized as such by nearly all nations through their ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The secret ballot is a feature of possibly every election law in the world.

However, the practice of elections in nearly every nation results in the blind citizen being dependent on another to cast his or her ballot. And logic tells us that a secret between two people is no secret.

If all citizens are to have equal access to the election process, then the election process must include procedures to enable blind citizens to cast a secret ballot.

It is surprisingly easy to do so.

In nations which use a paper ballot for voting, numerous jurisdictions have developed a ballot guide to help a blind voter independently mark the ballot. In most instances, this guide is a folder in which the regular ballot is inserted. The folder contains holes which correspond to the boxes on the ballot paper. On the folder are markers - sometimes Braille, sometimes raised bumps or lines - that help the voter navigate up and down the folder. Some election management bodies use a cassette tape as supplementary guide to the folder.

For examples of ballot guides from Canada, Ghana, Sierra Leone and the US State of Rhode Island, see: www.electionaccess.org/Bp/Ballot_Templates.htm

In jurisdictions using electronic voting systems, markings in Braille may be used (Brazil) or a combination of Braille and synthesized voice. These approaches are becoming must more common in the United States, where federal law now requires all voting systems to be accessible to blind and disabled voters by no later than 2006.

Removing Barriers for Voters with Mobility Limitations

Election authorities wouldn't dream of placing a polling station at the top of a rugged mountain, miles from the nearest village. Yet, for a wheelchair user or an elderly voter who uses a walker, a second floor polling station is just as inaccessible as that mountain. As more and more disabled citizens seek to take their place in society, and as society's age, public agencies need to put into place strategies that are inclusive and that promote full and equal participation.

In selecting polling stations, election authorities should envision having level access from the curbside outside of the polling station all the way inside the building to the polling booth itself. And that polling booth should be at table height, reachable by someone using a wheelchair. At an absolute minimum, all polling stations should be on the ground floor and election authorities should consult with their local disability organizations to develop standards for selecting polling stations.

Many industrialized nations have established guidelines for polling station design, and it is common to see election sites with temporary and/or permanent ramps to ensure easy access. It is also becoming increasingly common to see polling sites in homes for the elderly, at hospitals, and in other settings where elderly or disabled people gather.

A few developing nations have begun to address the issue of polling place accessibility.  The best of these efforts begins with a commitment to have ground floor voting only, and working toward having ramped entrances to all polling stations.

Election Monitoring By Citizens with Disabilities

Since 2000, IFES has worked with disability organizations in eleven nations to train over 1,300 people with disabilities to serve as election monitors. This exercise contributes to election reform, as disabled citizens become knowledgeable of the election process, and become informed partners to election management bodies. In countries as diverse as Albania, El Salvador, and Ghana, disability groups have developed collaborative relationships and formal agreements with election commissions, resulting in specific reforms to the election process. For example, as a direct result of election monitoring exercises in Albania and El Salvador, election authorities have agreed to ground floor voting. In Ghana, the election authorities agreed to develop and pilot test a ballot guide for blind voters.

Election monitoring by disabled citizens can also lead to a change in public attitude about the rights and abilities of people with disabilities, and about their ability to play a positive role in shaping a democratic society.

For reports on election monitoring activities in Zambia, see: www.electionaccess.org/Bp/Zambia.htm and in Albania, see: www.electionaccess.org/Bp/Albania_local_election.htm

Emerging International Standards

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) establishes clear benchmarks for the world's election laws and practices. Over the past two years, the ICCPR, IFES and the International IDEA - two of ACE's project partners - have launched an effort to develop international standards of electoral access for citizens with disabilities.

Central to this effort is the involvement of representatives of global and national disability organizations, regional and national electoral bodies, and multilateral agencies that promote democracy and human rights. Much of this important work has been funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

In September 2002, IFES and IDEA convened a four-day meeting in Sigtuna, Sweden, at which approximately 45 representatives of disability organizations, election agencies, parliaments, and international democracy agencies met to draft and approve a "bill of electoral rights for persons with disabilities," and accompanying guidelines for election agencies.

The "bill of electoral rights" is available, in multiple languages, including English, French, Spanish, Bosnian, Macedonian, Serbian, Albanian, and Bahasa Indonesian, at: www.electionaccess.org/subpages/Rights_Standards.htm

Guidelines for election commissions developed at this same workshop are available at: www.electionaccess.org/rs/Discussion_Paper.htm

These guidelines address a number of key issues, including election rights and competency; election standards for assisted voting, and election standards for mobile and off-site voting.

IFES, IDEA, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and disability and election experts are currently at work on phase two of this effort to develop model election law provisions to ensure full electoral participation by disabled citizens. A draft version of these provisions can be received by contacting IFES' human rights advisor, Jerry Mindes, at jmindes@ifes.org. Comments are most welcome.

Links to Disability Organizations

Too many election laws are written by people who assume they know what is best for voters with disabilities. All too often, this results in election law provisions which perpetuate stereotypes about disability, and treat disabled voters as second class citizens.

To put an end to these shortcomings, election management bodies are encouraged to consult regularly and openly with organizations of people with disabilities, and to seek their input in the design of outreach programs, in the design of ballots, and in the establishment of criteria to select polling stations.

The following global disability organizations have affiliates in most nations:

• Disabled Peoples' International
• Inclusion International
• Rehabilitation International
• World Blind Union
• World Federation of the Deaf (Website not active)
• World Federation of the Deafblind

Additional Resources - Elections and Disability:

• Secretary's Select Task Force on Voting Accessibility (Florida, United States; September, 2001) - minutes from a meeting by this task force regarding the accessibility of polling places for people with disabilities. Provides brief synopsis on laws in Florida regarding Disabilities: The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 1984 Voter Accessibilities for the Elderly and Handicapped Act, 1992 Final Report on Compliance, 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. The final report from the task force is no longer available online.
• Guide to Voting Equipment Usability and Accessibility for People with Disabilities (California, United States; 2003) - addresses the issue of providing information and tools to support increased access to voting systems for people with disabilities in California. The link offers a report on voting participation by people with disabilities and barrier to the voting process, also provides links for several federal and state election laws that discuss increasing the participation of people with disabilities.
• Know your Voting Rights (California, United States; 2003) - the California Secretary of State's web page on voting with disability. It gives information on how to register online to vote, and how to find out if your polling place is handicap accessible. From this page you can link to a sample checklist to for polling place accessibility.
• Polling Place Accessibility Checklist for Primary and General Elections (California, United States; 2003) - a PDF sample of a checklist of polling places in California to determine if they are handicap accessible.
• Disability World (International) - a web-based magazine dealing with disabilities. There is a section on governance which could be beneficial for elections access and information. The above entry is a link off this homepage, which deals with disability issues.
• Disability World - Citizens with Disabilities Observe Ghana's National Elections (Ghana) - Seventy-seven Ghanaian citizens with disabilities were trained and recruited as fully credentialed election observers during the nation's Presidential and Parliamentary elections of December 7, 2000. This first-of-its-kind program is a part of a larger project of the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) to promote the electoral enfranchisement of people with disabilities worldwide. The governments of Sweden and Finland provided funds for this program.
• DAWN Voting and Election Reform (Wisconsin, United States) - DAWN is an acronym for the Disability Advocates Wisconsin Network. Dawn is a statewide grassroots cross-disability network of people who care about disability issues. This particular link leads to the initiatives section of the website and focuses specifically on election reform. There are also links for campaign finance reform and other political issues.
• Voting: A Constitutional Right for all Citizens (Vermont, United States; 1999) - a guidebook for making elections accessible to people with disabilities. The cover features a picture of two voters in separate booths one standing, and one in a wheelchair. The guidebook was compiled in 1999 by the National Organization on Disability and updated by the National Task Force on Accessible Elections.
• Councils of Canadians with Disabilities (Canada; 2000) - details the findings of the council of Canadians with disabilities. The link gives specific information on the guides for accessibility. The material is available in both English and French.
• Promoting the Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Civil Registration and Municipal Elections in Kosovo (Kosovo; September, 2000) - An IFES funded project, the link is for a briefing paper completed by IFES on political access for people with disabilities. According to Handikos, a local Organization of Kosovars with disabilities, there are approximately 40,000 people with disabilities in Kosovo. This number is based on the very conservative estimate that 3 to 5 percent of the entire population is somehow disabled. Handikos has surveyed and identified approximately 16,000 people with disabilities. Handikos has been recognized by the international development community in Kosovo as a reliable partner, and has received direct funding and support from such entities as Handicap International and the Foreign Ministry of Finland
• Voter Information - Voters with Disabilities (California, United States; 2002) - good resource for sample material. There are links for audio information on ballots, as well as a touch screen that can be changed by someone with a handicap, and equipment for people with special needs.
• Accessibility for all Voters - Polling Place Accessibility (Vermont, United States; October 2004) - information about how to make a polling place more accessible, including a copy of a polling place accessibility survey from 2001. Also contains a list of polling places in Vermont which are accessible for handicapped voters.

Electoral Insight, published by Elections Canada, has a special issue (Vol. 6 No.1 April 2004) on Persons with Disabilities and Elections (PDF file)