ANCOR Joins Statements Expressing Concern about Voting Rights Legislation

With access to the vote at the forefront of national conversations over the past year, ANCOR is working to ensure efforts to reform voting systems do not lead to detrimental consequences for people with disabilities. As part of our coalition work on this issue, ANCOR signed onto two coalition statements expressing concerns about a specific provision of the For the People Act (H.R. 1 / S.1), which would require paper mandates.

The first statement, led by the National Disability Rights Network, explains: “In recent years, several pieces of legislation have included a “voter-verified” paper ballot mandate. We have and will continue to advocate against any paper ballot mandate to prevent the disenfranchisement of voters with disabilities. In January 2021, twenty national disability organizations issued a joint statement expressing concerns over any federal paper ballot mandate and its impact on voters with print disabilities. Any mandate of a paper-based voting system will inevitably harm voters with print disabilities as it would: 1.) end all voting system innovation and advancement to produce a fully accessible voting system that provides enhanced security; 2.) limit voters with disabilities’ federal right to privately and independently verify and cast their ballots, and; 3.) ultimately segregate voters with disabilities.”

The second statement, led by the American Association of People with Disabilities, contains the same language.

Bonus advocacy: Members engaged in voting rights advocacy may wish to submit comment in response to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) request for information on removing barriers to voting for people with disabilities. Comments are due by July 16, 2021.