Action Alert: Accessible Vote by Mail

March 24, 2022

Ask your state representative to vote YES in support of SB829, which provides for accessible vote by mail for Illinoisans with print disabilities

Background

Unlike voters without disabilities who wish to vote by mail, voters with print disabilities who wish to vote by mail are deprived of the right to vote privately and independently. Voters with print disabilities are forced to ask a person without disabilities for assistance in completing and submitting their ballots. They are thus denied the opportunity to exercise their right to vote that is equal to that afforded to voters without disabilities, including the ability to vote privately and independently, as required by the federal Help America Vote Act (“HAVA”), Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), and the Rehabilitation Act.

Following disability advocates’ discussions and negotiations with the State Board to address this disparity, the State Board agreed to purchase and make available to LEAs free of charge computer software that allowed voters with print disabilities to electronically receive and mark their vote by mail ballots using their own assistive technology for the 2020 General Election.

The State Board provided a system that allowed voters with disabilities to receive and mark their vote by mail ballots electronically for the November 2020 General Election. SB829 provides that the November 2022 general electon will be accessible for voters with print disabilities.

League Position

The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that voting is a fundamental citizen right that must be guaranteed.