The Commonwealth’s current absentee voting discriminates against voters who cannot mark a paper ballot due to print disabilities, including blindness. Instead of voting absentee like other Virginia citizens, these voters must reveal their choices to another person and hope that person correctly records their absentee vote or risk COVID-19 infection by traveling to the polls to vote in person.
Individuals with disabilities have a right to all aspects of the voting process, including remote absentee voting,”said Maggie Hart, Counsel at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee “The U.S Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, of which Virginia is part, has already held that voters with disabilities must have equal access to a state’s absentee voting program. We call on Virginia to do the right thing for its voters.”
“The Washington Lawyers’ Committee is one of our best partners. The first time they came over, they listened to us. They understand that knowledge exists in lots of different places and didn’t act like lawyers know more than the citizens. With their help, we’re going to keep hundreds and thousands of people in this city.”