20 Senators Urge Biden Administration to Take Executive Action to Strengthen Voting Rights and Accessibility

Difficulties with physical and information access contribute to the under-representation of people with disabilities in the voting electorate. To keep our members informed of broader policy conversations which could make it easier for them to help people with disabilities vote, we flag a letter from 20 Democratic Senators, led by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), to the Biden Administration. The letter flags several executive actions the administration could take pending legislative moves to strengthen voting rights. The letter includes two recommendations specific to the disability community’s voting rights:

“Ensuring voter registration services and ballot access for voters with disabilities. Voters with disabilities are one of the most underserved groups by our electoral system and are routinely confronted with significant obstacles to casting their ballots. We urge you to instruct federal agencies charged with providing voter registration services to guarantee these services are readily accessible for voters with disabilities. Additionally, your Administration could direct the National Institute for Standards and Technology to analyze barriers for voter services and develop recommendations for converting the federal voter registration form to be fully accessibly by individuals with disabilities.

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Modernize Vote.gov. As the primary federal online source for qualified voters to register to vote and access state and federal election information, Vote.gov must be modernized to optimize accommodation for all who rely on its resources. We urge you to direct the General Services Administration to work with the EAC and improve Vote.gov by ensuring the site has a user-friendly interface for voter registration forms, is compliant with accessibility standards under federal disability rights laws, and is available in different languages.”