By Molly Hunter
A grant from a local advocacy organization should help more voters get to the polls this November.
Iowans with Disabilities in Action has partnered with Johnson County to provide additional accessible voting assistance for those with disabilities. Key among them are affordable, accessible transportation options on Election Day.
“We received a grant from ID Action … to do something for people with disabilities for the election,” local advocate Harry Olmstead said. “One of the key components with people with disabilities with getting to vote is they don’t have adequate and affordable transportation.”
To resolve this, the Coralville and Iowa City fixed public-transit systems will provide free rides for people with disabilities on Election Day.
Thanks to the grant, SEATS Paratransit for Johnson County will also participate.
SEATS Director Tom Brase said, “We are participating in … providing transportation, as part of our contract with Coralville and Iowa City, to those who need to get to the voting station for free.”
Certified SEAT riders will be able to use the service for free on Nov. 8, though they will have to make reservations — and the Election Day disability services don’t stop there.
County Deputy Auditor Carrie Nierling pointed out that waiting in line is sometimes difficult for those with limited mobility. As a result, lines are often an obstacle.
However, she said, “If you can get transportation to and from but can’t get out of your car … we can send our bipartisan team out to your car. So you don’t even have to get out of your car, which I think is a great thing for people with limited mobility.”
Members of the bipartisan team will be ready to meet drive-up voters and take down their information. Nierling said they will then go into the polling place, and return with the voters’ ballots. Once the ballot has been filled out, team members will deposit it inside.
There will also be accessible options available for those who are able to go inside polling places, Nierling said.
“All of our polling places are compliant with the Help Americans Vote Act, which actually has pretty stringent standards … in terms of making sure that all our polling places are accessible,” she said.
Part of this accessibility involves special voting equipment that people with disabilities may use. The voting machines are designed to meet the needs of a wide array of voters with disabilities.
Nierling said that even with Johnson County’s current technology, officials continue to look ahead.
“We’re getting ready to replace [our voting equipment] this year,” she said. “That would include a newer, more technologically advanced accessibility machine that would make it even easier for people with disabilities to vote.”
In addition to accessible voting machines, there will be volunteers waiting to help voters with disabilities.
“We have over 50 volunteers,” Olmstead said. “They will be at … 24 out of 56 precincts that we’re covering in Coralville and Iowa City on Election Day. We’ll have two shifts in the morning and afternoon … volunteers will greet people with disabilities and provide them with assistance.”
These volunteers received training during mid- to late-October.
“ID did half the [volunteer] training, and part of that was about how important it is for those with disabilities to vote,” Olmstead said.
While many people with disabilities take advantage of absentee ballots, Olmstead said, enabling them to vote at the polls is still important.
“We’re not sure what kind of turnout we’re going to have … but it’s looking good,” he said.
This is the first year that many of these services have been offered, and Olmstead hopes for more improved accessibility in years to come. The issue of accessibility for voters with disabilities is, he said, an important one.
There are are 60 million people with disabilities in the U.S., 300,000 in Iowa, he said.
“[People with disabilities] are the biggest minority group in America but the most disorganized,” Olmstead said. “Their voice is at the ballot box. One voice is not a lot, but when you put it all together, it makes a big difference.”