Tonya Mosley:​ It's ​Here & Now​. Long voting lines are cropping up around the U.S.

But what if 

you are physically unable to stand for long periods of time? For some 38 million voters with 
disabilities, voting comes with challenges. Studies have shown that one in three voters with 
disabilities will face difficulty in voting at a polling place. Sabrina Epstein is a Johns Hopkins 
University student with a disability that prevents her from standing in line for long stretches to 
vote. Facing these barriers in her own life, she's become a vocal advocate for disability rights 
and she joins us now. Welcome. 
 
Sabrina Epstein: ​Thanks for having me. 
  
Mosley: ​How did you cast your ballot this election? 
  
Epstein:​ ​I was able to cast my own private, independent ballot through vote by mail, but I had 
to jump through some hoops to do so. They don't make it easy. I can't vote in person for a 
couple of reasons. First, that many polling places are inaccessible, even though they're 
required by law to b​e [Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990] ​compliant. That's pretty rarely 
enforced. And also, standing in long lines is not something I can do with my disability. And 
also, I'm high-risk for COVID-19, so the idea of going to a polling place among all these crowds 
of early voters is not something that would work for me this year. 
  
Mosley: ​What has been the breakdown — why [are] these polling places, which are often 
libraries and churches and places like that, not ADA compliant? 
  
Epstein: ​It's mostly a matter of enforcement. When federal laws, at the most basic level, like 
the Americans with Disabilities Act, which has been around for 30 years, isn't enforced by the 
federal government, then it all trickles down to creating even more problems at the state and 
local level. 
  
Mosley: ​I know also in places like Texas, poll workers have to give disabled people priority 
when standing in line to vote, but that is not a law in Maryland yet. What else can Maryland do 
to improve accessibility for voters with disabilities? 
  
Epstein: ​While it's really exciting to see these images of long lines to vote because so many 
people are early voting, to people with physical disabilities like myself, that is an image of 
inaccessibility. So some states do have laws requiring poll workers to prioritize people with 
disabilities and older adults, and in some states, parents of children with disabilities, or 
caregivers. Another change that I'm concerned about is that last week, the Supreme Court 
reinstated a ban on curbside voting in Alabama, which is another form of accessible voting to 
be able to have someone bring out a ballot to your car, and the Supreme Court decided that 
Alabama can continue its ban on curbside voting, which is just a huge step backwards, 
especially right now when people are trying not to be in big crowds because of social 
distancing. 
  
Mosley: ​I want to ask you about something else. Can you describe the electronic voting 
system for blind voters in Maryland? 
  
Epstein: ​ ​Yeah. So here in Maryland, there's two different options for blind and low-vision 
voters. The first would be to go to a polling place and use a ballot marker. Every polling place 
is required to have at least one ballot marking device, which lets you be able to hear what's on 
the ballot. However, this sometimes becomes a problem because if only blind and low-vision 
voters are using this device, then it becomes a segregated form of voting. So some poll 
workers are trying to encourage people without disabilities to also use these ballot marking 
devices. The other option is newer here in Maryland and came about due to a blind advocacy 
groups lawsuit, the National Federation for the Blind, which allows voters to request a ballot 
electronically, which they can fill out on their computer at home, which is really excellent 
because it allows people to use a screen reader to read them the ballot and fill it out privately 
and independently, which, as we know, is the goal. However, you then have to print it out and 
mail it in. And of course, not everyone has printers or access to the Internet or screen reader 
technology, so although it's a huge step forward, there's still a lot of barriers for blind and 
low-vision voters. 
  
Mosley: ​Yes. And as you as you speak, I'm just thinking about access to information about all 
of this. Is it really clear? I guess it really depends on where you live, whether or not you have 
access to even know these resources are available to you. 
 
Epstein: ​Absolutely. It's hard to figure out what all the options are for voting, especially right 
now with COVID and so many of the rules and policies changing around voting. And on top of 
that, it's hard to find accessible information from candidates, especially local candidates, down 
the ballot. Not all of their web sites are accessible to people using screen readers. They don't 
all have high-contrast text and not all of their videos are captioned. And it's really frustrating to 
feel left out of the political discussion, even just in that what some may say is a small way. 
  
Mosley: ​Every election season, there's a call to action to be more accessible for folks with 
disabilities. But this particular election is different than others because we're seeing record 
turnout at voting places and really a push for people to vote by mail. What changes do you still 
hope to see come out of this election? 
  
Epstein:​ ​I do hope that vote by mail sticks around as an option for all voters. But it's important 
for the disability community that vote by mail is not the only option that's available, because as 
you can see, although voting by mail is the most accessible option for my particular disability, 
it's not for everyone. We all have different experiences. 
  
Mosley: ​That's Sabrina Epstein, a student in Maryland who advocates for the rights of people 
with disabilities. Thank you so much, Sabrina. 
  
Epstein: ​Thanks for having me.