Executive Summary
I. Introduction
2020 has proven to be an unprecedented and unpredictable year in the United States, and accordingly in Tennessee. With the specter of voting during a pandemic looming, half of all registered US voters expect it to be difficult to cast their vote on election day. If you have a disability in the state of Tennessee – that difficulty is even more pronounced. A recent study by Rutgers University found Tennessee had the second-lowest turnout of voters with disabilities in the 2018 mid-term elections at 37.6 percent, compared to a nationwide average of 53.4%. This broad uncertainty has exposed preexisting inequalities in access to the voting booth. Prior to COVID-19, over 40% of voters with disabilities expected difficulty casting their ballot. The barriers previously experienced by some are now faced by all. Rising to the challenge presented by the pandemic, states across the nation have broadened access to the ballot box through primary use of mail-in voting, reduced restrictions on absentee voting, use of ballot drop boxes or enhanced convenience voting. While these steps have increased access for all, it has also cracked open a window to new opportunity for free, fair and accessible elections for Americans with disabilities beyond the pandemic.
II. Voters with disabilities
Constituting nearly one third of Tennessee residents, the population of voters with disabilities is expected to continue to grow. As voters, persons with disabilities show higher levels of interest in politics and government, but have lower turnout voter turnout rates.
III. Barriers to voting
Tennessee voters with disabilities face numerous obstacles to casting their ballot. These include physical barriers to polling places and inaccessible or nonfunctioning machines. Like much of the country, Tennessee faces a significant poll worker shortage in 2020. Changes to the requirements of poll workers, inadequate training and worker policies limit the effectiveness of poll workers to assist voters with disabilities. Several systemic obstacles including a lack of reliable public transportation and strict voter ID laws exacerbate the voter turnout gap between persons with and without disabilities.
IV. Voter access efforts in Tennessee
The state of Tennessee has implemented several initiatives that improve voting accessibility for citizens with disabilities, including purchasing new accessible machines, granting paid voting leave, offering accessible absentee ballots and permitting online voter registration.
V. Policy Solutions
Public policy measures that have successfully increased voter access for Americans with disabilities in other states should be considered to improve voter experience and turnout in Tennessee.
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- No-excuse absentee voting allows voters with disabilities to access and complete a ballot from their home, which removes many barriers to voting. Flexible options for returning absentee ballots include the use of surrogates, absentee ballot drop boxes and paid return postage.
- Expanding early voting sites and hours would reduce lines and wait times on election days, both of which benefit voters with disabilities. Vote centers, which Tennessee should continue to use, reduce transportation burdens for voters with disabilities and prioritizes in-person voting accessibility.
- Curbside voting ensures accessible in-person voting while providing counties with flexibility while addressing existing polling places accessibility issues.
- Modifying strict voter ID laws by allowing for the use of alternate forms of identification, or the option to cast provisional ballots alleviates the disproportionate burden on citizens with disabilities.
Additional policy considerations
- Tennessee has unspent federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) funds that it could use to establish an Accessible Elections Office and purchase new voting machines.
- Make election accommodations enacted to adapt to Covid-19 permanent. This includes the ability for voters registering for the first time using the online voter registration to vote absentee and, in the absence of no-excuse absentee voting, the expanded eligibility criteria for voters to use absentee ballots.
VI. Conclusion
Challenges all Americans have faced during this pandemic have exposed the real inequalities that many citizens with disabilities have experienced their entire lives. We have changed public policy to accommodate the adversity of 2020. This has created a new opportunity for us to open a window to a world where self-determination, secured by the right to vote, is accessible to all. We must enshrine accessibility into our new post-pandemic world and tear down the shameful wall of exclusion from the ballot box.
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