We must dismantle barriers that prevent disabled Americans from voting

Jenniffer Jarvis has been impressed with her son’s civic interest and knowledge for years. Unfortunately, Josh, who is autistic and 19 years old, lost the right to vote when he came under full guardianship of his parents. Despite his ineligibility, his family believed Josh had the capacity to be an engaged citizen. After prepping for months, Josh took the Arizona Civics Test in January 2023 and earned a score of 94%, far surpassing the 60% students need to receive a high school diploma.

Even so, the Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County rejected the family’s request to retain Josh’s voting rights in August 2023, citing full guardianship as the reason. This defeat is just one example of the indignities and barriers people with disabilities face in community participation, and particularly in voting.

We must dismantle the barriers that prevent Americans with disabilities from voting; many in the community can’t navigate the labyrinth required to vote. About 17.7 million people with disabilities reported voting in the last presidential election, according to Rutgers University researchers. That compares with over 70 million U.S. adults having a disability.

Many people are quick to imagine “disabled” as someone with visual, auditory, or mobility impairments because these challenges are easy to recognize. But the term disability also relates to people with social vulnerabilities and those who cannot plan and execute tasks independently, like the many steps required to register and cast a ballot.

As mothers of autistic sons, we are committed to closing the voting gap. Some challenges are legal and involve guardianship or conservatorship. Other barriers are physical. When Government Accountability Office inspectors visited 167 polling places before the 2016 election, they found steep ramps, poor signage, and a lack of parking options. Only 17% of sites were fully accessible for people with disabilities who wanted to vote in person.

Friedlaender’s son, Alexander, 22, is an autistic college student in Washington, D.C. Alexander never learned the continuous flow of cursive writing. He can write thoughtful essays for advanced history of art coursework but gets flustered when asked to sign his name in cursive. A signature is required to check in at polling stations or affirm the authenticity of a mail-in ballot. It took time, but with great pride, Alex painstakingly voted by mail earlier this month with his hard-earned penmanship.

Resnik’s son, Matthew, 33, completed his public education as a fourth-year high school senior. Matt began singing the preamble to the Constitution at the age of 8, along with a broad repertoire of songs thanks to his beloved Schoolhouse Rock! video collection. An unreliable speaker, Matthew still struggles with answers to questions, yet can solve all kinds of multiplication problems in his head. With his communication challenges, he will not be casting a ballot this year or in the foreseeable future. However, Matt’s voice will be heard indirectly at the ballot box by those who think of housing, health care, employment, and disability rights when they select a candidate.

Across the country, the autistic population is growing, though autistic Americans are hardly the only group facing barriers to voting. Roughly one in 36 children is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Every year, more than 120,000 U.S. autistic youth transition to adulthood and lose school-based services. They enter a chaotic world where they are far less assured of health care, housing, training, and jobs.

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Major medical and public health groups, including the American Medical Association, have identified voting as a social determinant of health — or, more simply, a factor that improves the well-being of those who do it.

There has been some movement in the right direction. In Josh’s case, the guardianship issue in Arizona was lifted this summer thanks to Wood v. Coconino, a Arizona Court of Appeals decision that ruled people under guardianship should not automatically lose their voting rights. If a citizen understands they are choosing a particular candidate for a specific office, the citizen has the capacity to vote.

That’s why First Place AZ launched VotetheSpectrum.org, a nonpartisan movement that aims to register and educate voters with disabilities across the U.S. The initiative, launched in Arizona one year ago, also offered a series of Spark the Spectrum accessible voting workshops as well as tool kits and mock elections to give adults with autism and intellectual and/or developmental disabilities a chance to practice all steps of the voting process.

As moms, we also know our work is never done. The disabled community’s needs can only be met when those who exercise their voting privilege support those who cannot.

Denise D. Resnik (Matt’s mom) is the founder and CEO of First Place AZ, a charitable nonprofit housing and community developer. Eron Friedlaender (Alex’s mom) is a public health investigator, an emergency room physician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and a collaborator and consultant with architects based in New York, California, and Egypt on inclusive design for people with disabilities.