brennan center for justice

accessible voting systemsThe Help America Vote Act (HAVA) requires that every polling place used for federalelections be equipped with a voting system that is “accessible for individuals with disabilities. . . in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation (includingprivacy and independence) as for other voters.” 129 Many disability rights advocates rightlyhail this provision of HAVA as a civil rights milestone, providing millions of Americanswith the opportunity to vote privately and independently for the first time in their lives.Unfortunately, however, reports indicate that accessible systems too often malfunctionon Election Day, frustrating voters with disabilities. 130 As a result, HAVA’s mandate hassometimes gone unfulfilled, and these voters have been forced to either seek assistance andlose their privacy while voting, or to give up on voting in their polling places altogether.Over the past several years, there have been several individual 131 and institutional 132 reportsdetailing problems that voters with disabilities have experienced using these systems. 133They have included audio keypads and output that failed to work, VVPAT printerson accessible units that malfunction, and accessible machines that cannot read ballotscorrectly. Frequently these “malfunctions” could have been avoided if poll workers orelection officials were aware of procedures to prevent them.The appendix available in the online version of this report details some of the defectsthat have threatened to disenfranchise voters with disabilities, but a comprehensivecollection of reported malfunctions in accessible voting systems does not exist in onelocation. There is no easy way for election officials, disability rights advocates or voterswith disabilities to review a comprehensive list of problems associated with these systems,or the countermeasures that election officials can implement to avoid them.A centralized database that allowed users to search these kinds of problems could greatlyimprove the voting experience of voters with disabilities. Such a database would notprevent malfunctions. But it would give election officials significant knowledge, so thatthey could take steps to prevent malfunctions, or quickly correct them. It would also giveelection officials – and voters – the opportunity to warn their counterparts in other areasof the country about problems experienced in various polling places with accessible unitsand to remedy such problems prior to Election Day.Brennan Center for Justice | 19