Battleground: Ballot Box Georgia Public Broadcasting

Thanks for explaining the RLA on Ep 15. Now I understand.

As a disabled person who experienced physical inaccessibility of voting buildings and systems in 2018, I also saw other disabled voters struggle. We don’t have paper ballots anymore, and the Dominion machines make voting inaccessible to many people with disabilities (not just visual, movement disorder disabilities). When I gave the DeKalb County Voting Commission board NCIL accessible voting guideline handouts, it declined them. Chairman Tillman accused me of faking an inability to stand and walk after a period of time, tried to deny my desire to file accessibility complaints on behalf of myself and another disabled voter, and told me to “stand up and go find the real disabled voters” who may have complaints. The outside of the building, without seating, Dir. Hamilton said was the responsibility of the federal government and therefore seating was not their responsibility. There were two wheelchairs, one front and one back, that were manual, despite our needs for our own mobility aids, which make us reliant on staff. And of course the booth aisles were so narrow that no other voters could be voting while we were. The AJC covered my 2018 experience. I have heard so many disabled voter complaints from over the years, before and since. I can only imagine the dangers and inaccessibility Covid adds. Please press harder, or nothing we’ve worked for will ever be achieved.

It’s informative and interesting about the voting process. While it is Georgia focused, there are similar events and concerns around the country. If you’re interested in learning more about how voting works behind the scenes, this is the podcast for you!