KSDISABILITYVOTE.ORG
is a project of DRC Kansas
to help you get registered to vote and understand your rights!
Getting Assistance
in Casting a Ballot & Your Right to Vote …
Voting is a
fundamental right!
That
means everyone who is registered to vote is entitled to vote. Voters
with disabilities are entitled to receive any assistance needed in
casting their ballots.
Facts
about the right of people with disabilities to get assistance in
voting:
• Federal law gives voters with disabilities the
right to decide whether to get assistance in casting a ballot and
who will provide it.
• Voters can choose a poll worker, friend, family
member, caregiver, assisted living provider, facility staff person
or almost anyone else.
• The
only
people who may not assist a voter are the voter's employer or an
agent of that employer, or, if the voter is a member of a union, the
voter’s union officer or an agent of the union.
What can
assistance providers do to help a person vote?
• First, an assistance provider should ask the
voter what choice he or she wants to make. The assistance provider
must never make
assumptions regarding how a person wants to vote!
• The assistance provider
must respect the voter’s
privacy at all times during the voting process.
• The assistance provider should be familiar with
the instructions on how to cast a ballot and be prepared to explain
them to the voter and/or demonstrate the voting process.
• The assistance provider should be prepared to
read or explain all ballot choices or questions.
• The assistance provider may mark a ballot for
an individual with a disability only if the voter has directed him
or her to do so.
• After the ballot has been completed, the
assistance provider should make sure that the ballot accurately
reflects the voter’s choices. The assistance provider should offer
to correct any mistakes and to check the ballot for additional
election contests that may have been missed.
What
actions would
not be appropriate?
• Making decisions for the voter — for example,
marking or changing a ballot to reflect a choice other than a choice
expressed by the voter.
• Communicating with the voter in a way that
makes the voter feel forced to make certain choices.
• Pressuring the voter to vote for a particular
candidate or in a certain way.
• Withholding information or giving false
information to a voter.
• Pressuring the voter to cast a vote on every
measure or candidate. Everyone has the right to choose whether or
not to vote on each contest.
• Revealing to others how the individual voted.
Please respect the voter’s
right to privacy!
If you have any
questions or need assistance please contact DRC.
DRC’s goal is to make this website understandable
and useful. This website is not intended to provide specific
legal advice. Please contact and attorney for advice or for
assistance based on you particular situation.
DRC is the Official Protection and Advocacy System for
Kansas. "The cost of ksdisabilityvote.org was paid for by a
grant from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities
(grant # G0703KSVOTP)"
