Accessible voting and your rights
The short answer
Federal law requires accessible voting systems in federal elections and accessible polling places, and it allows most voters who need help to choose their own assistant. Contact your local election office in advance to arrange what you need.
Go straight to the official source
Official source
Open the Vote.gov disability voting guide
Federal guide to accessible registration and voting options.
Open the Vote.gov disability voting guide
This link leaves WomanVoters and opens the official site. We never ask for the personal details the official system requires.
Official source
Open the EAC accessibility resources
Federal accessibility standards, accommodations, and voter resources.
Open the EAC accessibility resources
This link leaves WomanVoters and opens the official site. We never ask for the personal details the official system requires.
Official source
Read the ADA voting rights guidance
What the Americans with Disabilities Act requires of election officials.
Read the ADA voting rights guidance
This link leaves WomanVoters and opens the official site. We never ask for the personal details the official system requires.
Start with the task, not the label
Different needs call for different arrangements, and you do not need to explain a diagnosis to anyone. Work from what you need on the day.
- Getting into the building. Ask about parking, entrance routes, and whether curbside voting is offered.
- Marking the ballot privately. Ask which accessible ballot marking device is available and whether it will be set up and tested when you arrive.
- Reading the ballot. Ask about audio ballots, large print, magnifiers, and screen contrast options.
- Handling a ballot at home. Ask whether mail ballots can be delivered and returned in a way that works for you, and whether your state has an accessible remote ballot marking option.
- Bringing help. Federal law lets most voters who need assistance choose their own helper, with narrow exceptions for an employer or a union agent.
Arrange it in advance
Call or email your local election office before Election Day. Ask for the accommodation by name, ask who is responsible on the day, and write down the answer. Early contact also gives the office time to fix a problem at a specific building.
If something goes wrong
- Ask to speak with the location supervisor first, and ask for the accessible system to be set up and tested.
- Call the local election office from the polling place.
- Federal voting rights resources, including how to report a problem, are published by the Department of Justice and linked in our sources directory.
- For an immediate threat to anyone’s safety, contact local emergency services.
Language and disability together
If you need materials in another language as well, see our language help guide. Federal language provisions and disability provisions are separate, and a jurisdiction may satisfy one and not the other.
Questions worth asking your election office
- Which accessible voting system is available at my assigned location, and will it be set up when polls open?
- Is curbside voting offered here, and how do I signal that I need it?
- Can a ballot be delivered to me at home, and how is it returned?
- Who is the accessibility contact for this jurisdiction, and how do I reach them on Election Day?
What the official record shows
What federal law requires
The Help America Vote Act requires at least one accessible voting system for people with disabilities at each polling place in a federal election, allowing a voter to vote privately and independently. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires state and local election programs to be accessible, and the Voting Rights Act allows a voter who needs assistance because of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write to receive help from a person of the voter's choice other than an employer or union agent.
Accommodations are arranged locally
Curbside voting, accessible equipment, large print materials, and emergency ballot delivery exist in many jurisdictions, but availability and procedures are set by state law and local practice.
Our perspective
Access should not depend on who is working that day
Disabled voters routinely report equipment that was not set up, entrances that were locked, and poll workers who had not been trained on the accessible machine. Rights on paper become real only when the equipment is tested, the training happens, and someone is accountable for the building.
This panel states what we believe. It is labeled, it is separate from the record above, and it never changes the voting instructions on this site.
The strongest argument against our view
Local officials note that accessible equipment is expensive to maintain and that a machine used by a handful of voters per site still requires full setup and testing. That is a real budget question, and it is an argument for adequate funding rather than for treating private and independent voting as optional.
What remains uncertain
Curbside voting, at-home ballot delivery, and electronic ballot return for disabled voters are available in some jurisdictions and not others, and rules change. Verify with your local office before relying on any of them.
Sources
-
United States Election Assistance Commission
Guide to voting with a disability
Federal guide to accessible registration and voting options.
-
United States Election Assistance Commission
Federal accessibility standards, accommodations, and voter resources.
-
United States Department of Justice
Protecting voter rights under the ADA
What the Americans with Disabilities Act requires of election officials.
-
Civil Rights Division, United States Department of Justice
Federal voting rights information and the route for reporting a problem.
Change history
This page has not been substantively changed since it was published on August 29, 2026.
Found an error? Report it and read the correction log.
Support this project
Help cover hosting, source review, accessibility, maintenance, and independent civic education.
- Payments go to the independent publisher of this site. Stripe names the receiving entity on the checkout page and on your receipt.
- Payments are not tax deductible, and do not go to a candidate, campaign, political party, or ballot committee.
- Support does not influence our factual coverage or editorial conclusions.
- Voter information on this site is free and stays free.
Checkout is hosted by Stripe. Amount and cadence are shown before you pay, and recurring support is never preselected. See the full support terms and how this publication is funded.