Voting - Disability Rights Arkansas

Mar 08 2023

Registering to Vote Should be Easy

HB1537 has been filed, which would create an online voter registration option.

States first began to allow online registration in 2002, which has since been adopted by 42 states, Washington, D.C., and Guam. Arkansas is one of only nine states which do not offer or plan to offer online voter registration. In two of these states, Oklahoma and Maine, online registration is in the process of implementation.

Online registration is a way to make voting more accessible, especially for voters with disabilities who may have difficulty filling out and mailing paper forms. For this reason, it is important that voter registration websites be constructed with accessibility in mind.

Benefits of Online Voter Registration:

Online Registration saves states money: A 2019 report by the Brennan Center stated that “every state that has modernized registration saved money.” Developing and implementing online voter registration has been relatively inexpensive, and states have recouped that money quickly due to a reduction in per-voter registration processing cost, with states seeing a drop in that cost of up to 95%.

Online Registration increases registration rates and turnout: States have seen a sharp increase in the number of registered voters when they have adopted online registration. Washington and Kansas saw their registration numbers double and South Dakota saw an increase of 500%

Online Registration increases voter satisfaction and reduces burdens on election officials: In a 2015 report by the Pew Center, 13 states highlighted voter satisfaction and reduced burdens on election officials as the major benefits they had seen from online registration.

Online Registration is more accurate: The same Pew Center report saw local election officials praising the improved accuracy of their voter rolls due to factors due to the reduction of handwritten applications and the need for information to be transcribed by election staff.

Online Registration is secure: No state has ever reported a security breach of their online registration system. Encryption, Captcha, and other programs that protect against hacking, routine audit logs, secure networks, unique identifiers, and other strategies help impede unauthorized access. None of these security features can be used with paper forms.

Ask your representative to vote yes to HB1537

Sep 22 2021

How do recent changes in voting laws impact you?

collection of election campaign vote pins on white

Earlier this year, the Arkansas legislature passed a number of changes to voting laws. These changes affect early voting, absentee ballots, and the ability of people with disabilities to get help in casting their vote at the polls.

How will these changes impact you? Here’s a brief explainer:

Act 249 changes the way that the Voter ID requirement works in Arkansas. If you don’t have an ID with you, you will have to present ID to election officials in your county by the Monday after Election Day for your ballot to be counted. Signing a statement that says you are who you say you are instead of presenting an ID is no longer enough to have your ballot counted. This law will prevent people without a valid ID, or without reliable transportation, from being able to vote.
Act 723 bans people from being within 100 feet of a polling place, except for people who are there for “lawful purposes.” This means that groups that have provided water, snacks, or other aid for people waiting in line to vote are not allowed to do that anymore. This does not prevent a person with a disability from bringing someone with them to help them with voting, because the person who is there to help is there for a lawful purpose. This law will make it harder for all voters, especially those with certain disabilities, to wait in the long lines that can happen on Election Day.
Act 736 makes a few different changes to the way absentee ballots work in Arkansas. One of the things it does is add stricter requirements for absentee ballots to be counted. The people reviewing the ballots will be checking to make sure that all signatures and personal information match on the application for the ballot, the ballot itself, and the voter statement. If anything does not match up the ballot will not be counted. This could create issues for voters who are blind or have certain physical disabilities and do not always have a consistent signature or anyone who might make a mistake entering their personal information. The law also makes a change to the number of ballots that one person can return for other people. A person used to be able to return absentee ballots for up to ten people. This law changes that to four people. This can cause a problem for people with disabilities who rely on other people to return their ballot for them.
Act 973 moves up the deadline for returning absentee ballots in person to 5 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day. Absentee ballots that are mailed in are still due by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.

We’ve created a one-page flyer summarizing these changes, so that you can download and print it for your files or share it with others.

Click here to download our guide to recent voting changes.

Oct 30 2020

News bulletin: Information for blind and low-vision voters

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) requires that every polling place have at least one accessible voting machine available for every federal election so voters with disabilities can cast a private and independent ballot. To help ensure that blind and low-vision voters are not denied this right, the National Federation of the Blind will host an Election Day hotline that blind and low-vision voters, poll workers, and voting rights advocates can call when problems with accessible voting technology or other barriers are preventing a blind voter from casting a private and independent ballot.

The hotline will be available on November 3, 2020, by calling 1-877-NFB-1940 ( 1-877-632-1940( from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific standard time. Individuals who have experience in the operation of accessible voting technology will be staffing the hotline to provide assistance to blind voters, poll workers, and voting rights advocates.

After exercising the fundamental right to vote, blind and low-vision voters are encouraged to complete our 2020 Blind and Low-Vision Voter Experience Survey. The 2020 blind and low-vision voter experience survey consists of two separate surveys. Those voters who voted absentee or by mail using an accessible electronic ballot delivery system or a traditional paper ballot, are encouraged to complete the survey for blind and low-vision voters who voted absentee or by mail at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YJJL7GN.

Blind and low-vision voter who voted at an early voting center or at a polling place on Election Day, are encouraged to complete the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NGFMPF2.

Questions about the blind voter hotline or the blind voter survey may be directed to Lou Ann Blake, by e-mail at lblake@nfb.org or by phone at 410-659-9314, extension 2221, or Jeff Kaloc, by email at jkaloc@nfb.org or by phone at 410-659-9314, extension 2206.

Sep 16 2020

Disability voters, ASSEMBLE. Tonight on KABF-FM 88.3

Voters with disabilities represent a large, diverse community. Like every other voter, people with disabilities care most about the policies that affect their everyday lives. And perhaps more than any other time in our lifetimes, we can draw a bright line between elections and their implications on our daily lives. Health care, the economy, education, and our civil rights – all of these issues hang in the balance this election season. With fewer than 50 days until Election Day, and with the pandemic still in full force, voters are not only thinking about which candidates they will support, but how they will cast their vote to make sure it counts.

Tune in tonight, Wednesday, September 16, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. We’ll tell you all you need to know about when and how to register to vote; how you can cast your ballot early; how absentee voting works; staying safe (and keeping your cool) on Election Day; and how to make sure your vote is counted.

You can listen live on KABF-FM 88.3, livestream the show at kabf.org, or you can listen anytime on our website – we always post a recording of the show at disabilityrightsAR.org/speak-up-arkansas. Listen in – and MAKE YOUR VOTING PLAN TODAY!

Tonight’s guests include:

Christian Adcock is an advocate with DRA. He has been with us since November of 2013 and has worked in a variety of issue areas for the agency. He is currently focused on voting rights issues and outreach efforts related to the 2020 census.

Loriee Evans is a full-time volunteer for Indivisible Little Rock and Central Arkansas, organizing their work registering, educating and mobilizing voters, and then holding elected officials accountable to those voters. Loriee collaborates with social justice and voting rights advocates in Arkansas to work toward a government that will represent all voters.

Barry Jefferson represents the 10^th District on the Pulaski County Quorum Court. Mr. Jefferson was first elected to the Pulaski County Quorum Court in 2019 and is serving his 1st term as Justice of the Peace. Mr. Jefferson is Managing Partner/ Jefferson Consulting, LLC., in Jacksonville, Arkansas and gives his time to a number of worthy organizations and causes, not least the Jacksonville NAACP.

Susan Inman was Director of Elections for a former Arkansas Secretary of State, former member of the Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners, founder and first president of the Arkansas County Election Commissions Association. She has volunteered with the US Department of State as an international election observer, observing over a dozen elections in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus and most recently in Ukraine observing their presidential elections in 2019. As a voting rights advocate, Susan volunteers by speaking to groups about voting and the voting process.

SHOW NOTES:

Our guests gave us several websites so that you have all the info you need at your fingertips! Here they are:

vipvoter.org A nonpartisan voter outreach campaign by Indivisible Little Rock and Central Arkansas. Contains information on how and where to register and vote; information on the various races, candidates and issues; and ways to get involved in your community.

#VoteSafeAR is also run by Indivisible LR/Central Arkansas, and is dedicated to helping people obtain and cast an absentee ballot to ensure that you can cast your ballot safely during the pandemic. Find them at vipvoter.org/VoteSafeAR

Already registered? Look up your voter registration at https://www.voterview.ar-nova.org/VoterView to make sure your registration is on file and there are no issues. (You don’t want any surprises on Election Day!)

GoVoteAR.org is another great place to find important information such as registration deadlines; early voting dates and links to your County Clerk’s office to get early voting location; links to request an absentee ballot, and more!

Check out the NAACP-Jacksonville’s website at https://www.naacpjvark.org/ for Get Out the Vote and other election-related activities.

In addition to Presidential, Senate and Congressional races, there are a number of state house seats, judicial races, school board elections, and more up for grabs on Election Day. There are also some important ballot initiatives you’ll want to get smart about before heading to the polls. Check out the VERY excellent resources at https://www.uaex.edu/business-communities/voter-education/ – there you can read up on the candidates, learn more about the ballot initiatives you’re being asked to vote on, and even take a look at the ballot you’ll be completing when you vote. PRO TIP – print it out, study up, mark your choices on your printed ballot, and take it to the polls so you can use it to help you vote.

And last but CERTAINLY not least, your pals here at Disability Rights Arkansas have put together some resources for you, including videos about registering to vote, early voting, voting absentee, AND what to do it you run into a problem at the polls. (Hint: take two phone numbers with you when you vote: your County Clerk’s, and DRA – 800-482-1174). Check it out at DisabilityRightsAR.org/voting-rights.

It’s go time, Arkansas! Make a plan, cast your vote, and let your voice be heard this Election Day! As our guest Susan Inman says, “Vote like your life depends on it – because it DOES.”

Apr 27 2020

All about voting absentee in Arkansas

With the uncertainty about how long COVID-19 will continue to effect our daily lives, and the chance that social distancing and other precautions may extend through the elections this November, it is more important than ever that Arkansans with disabilities be familiar with how absentee voting works in our state. While the governor may decide to allow no-excuse absentee ballots in upcoming elections, currently there are only four reasons to vote absentee:

You will be unavoidably absent from your polling site on election day
You will be unable to attend your polling site on election day due to illness or physical disability
You are a member of the Uniformed Services, or a spouse or dependent family member, and are away from your polling location due to the member’s active duty status
You are a U.S. citizen who is temporarily living outside of the United States

If you want to request an absentee ballot you will have to fill out an absentee ballot application. You can get an application by contacting your county clerk’s office or by visiting the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office at https://www.sos.arkansas.gov/uploads/elections/Absentee_Ballot_Application.pdf. Once you have completed the application you need to submit it to your county clerk, either by mail or in person. It is important to know the deadlines for requesting an absentee ballot, the deadlines will be different depending on how you plan to pick up your application.

In Person: by close of business the day BEFORE the election

By Designated Bearer or Administrator: by close of business the day BEFORE the election

By Mail: by 7 days before the election

By Authorized Agent: by 1:30 p.m. ON Election Day. An Authorized Agent must give the County Clerk an affidavit from the administrator of a hospital or nursing home saying that the applicant is a patient of a hospital or long-term care or residential care facility licensed by the state and will be unable to vote on Election Day at their regular polling site.

A designated bearer is(A Designated Bearer is a person you choose to pick up or deliver your application or ballot.

Once you have your ballot you just need to make sure that it is filled out and then returned to the county clerk. There are important deadlines for this as well.

In Person: by close of business the day BEFORE the election

By Designated Bearer: by 7:30 p.m. ON Election Day

By Mail: received at clerk’s office by 7:30 p.m.

It is important to remember that if you are planning to submit your ballot by mail that you will need to provide postage.

If you would like the state to consider changing to no-excuse absentee ballots, or if you would like to see other changes in the way elections work in Arkansas, such as automatic voter registration or universal voting by mail, you should contact the governor, your state representative, and your state senator. It’s important to make your voice heard.

If you have any questions about obtaining an absentee ballot, or anything else related to voting, you can contact Disability Rights Arkansas via email, social media, or by phone at 1-800-482-1174. We also have a flyer which contains this information which can be found at https://k4q.c18.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Absentee-Ballot-Flyer.pdf.

Christian Adcock is an advocate at Disability Rights Arkansas. Email him at cadcock@disabilityrightsar.org.