Plan Your Vote Let Your Voice Be Heard

(Bismarck, ND) As voters prepare to head off to the polls on November 8th, many people research the candidates, read the measures, and find the location of their voting site. People with disabilities do all these things, but they also face additional barriers to voting.
In the United States, 1 in 6 eligible voters have a disability; that is approximately 17% of eligible voters, but in the 2020 elections only 11% voted. This election season, the North Dakota Protection & Advocacy Project reminds the public that federal law ensures that voters with disabilities have the same opportunity to vote as people without disabilities.
Voting areas must ensure physical accessibility, must reasonably modify practices to allow voters with disabilities to participate, and provide effective communication mediums for people with disabilities. Examples include allowing a person with a disability to have someone assist them in the voting process, providing an interpreter or alternative format materials, or using the ExpressVote machine.
People with disabilities that are subject to a guardianship cannot be denied the right to vote, unless a court has made a specific finding that the person no longer has the right to vote. Similarly, an eligible voter cannot be turned away from the polls because someone thinks you are not qualified to vote.
Plan your vote for November 8, 2022 and let your voice be heard! For more information on voting with a disability please visit our website.
The North Dakota Protection & Advocacy Project is a federally mandated, independent state agency established in 1977 to advance the human and legal rights of people with disabilities. P&A’s mission is to champion the equality and inclusion of people with disabilities where we live, work and play. P&A fulfills its mission by providing services to individuals with disabilities and their support networks; these services include information and referral, assistance with self-advocacy, education and training, advocacy services, legal representation, protective services, and systems and legislative advocacy.