After years of voting in person, Bettina Dolinsek voted at her home in Ankeny this fall for the first time ever.
“It was easier, time convenient for us to just do it here at home,” she said. “So I thought we’d try it.”
She needed some help to do that, though. Dolinsek is blind, and so is her husband. Because Iowa’s absentee ballots are on paper, she and her husband were not able to read and mark the ballots themselves.
If my neighbors have the opportunity to mark a ballot from home, I want that same opportunity.Bettina Dolinsek
“I had to have somebody who I trusted come over and mark the ballot for me,” Dolinsek said. “So, as they were here, I had to tell them who I wanted to vote for. It just seemed awkward.”
Dolinsek said the convenience of voting at home comes at the cost of her privacy and independence. Most voters never have to tell anyone who they voted for.
In past elections, she would take an Uber or taxi to vote in person because polling places have accessible voting machines that can read the options out loud and have a keypad to select candidates. For the past few years, Dolinsek has been asking state officials to authorize electronic absentee ballots that would allow her to use her computer to vote at home.
“If my neighbors have the opportunity to mark a ballot from home, I want that same opportunity,” she said. “And I want that to also be independent.”
Advocating for equal access to the ballot box
Last legislative session, an Iowa House committee advanced a bill to create an accessible absentee voting pilot program, but it never passed. Some other states use electronic absentee ballots for certain voters.
People with disabilities make up a growing share of eligible voters in the U.S., and they are increasingly participating in elections. But people with disabilities are still a bit less likely to vote than people without them. Disability rights advocates in Iowa like Dolinsek have been trying to close that gap and remove barriers to ensure equal access to the ballot box.
Dolinsek said electronic absentee ballots would be a big step forward in closing the voter participation gap between people with and without disabilities.
“That’s going to open up a whole new avenue for folks who are homebound and have disabilities to vote,” she said. “I think it’s that, and I think it’s the transportation — those are the biggest two barriers for people to get out and get to the polls.”
There isn’t good state-level data on how many Iowans with disabilities vote, according to Piper Haugan, a voting rights advocate with Disability Rights Iowa. But she points to a national study by Rutgers University that looked at the 2022 midterm elections.
“There is a gap between individuals with disabilities and individuals without disabilities in their voting,” Haugan said. “So it’s about a 1.5% difference.”
When the study accounted for the fact that people with disabilities skew older, and older people are much more likely to vote, researchers found a bigger gap. Comparing voters with and without disabilities who are the same age showed a 10% gap in voting.
For the individuals with disabilities who go to vote on Election Day, 14% of those individuals do experience issues versus 4% of the general population of individuals who don’t have disabilities.Piper Haugan, voting rights advocate
According to Rutgers researchers, turnout of voters with disabilities in the 2024 election depends on campaign dynamics, get-out-the-vote efforts and the extent of barriers faced by people with disabilities.
Haugan said she believes election officials in Iowa are really trying to make voting accessible. Iowans who vote in person can get help from poll workers or use accessible voting machines. There’s also curbside voting for people who don’t want to get out of their car. But a national survey shows there can still be issues.
“For the individuals with disabilities who go to vote on Election Day, 14% of those individuals do experience issues versus 4% of the general population of individuals who don’t have disabilities,” Haugan said. “So that’s a pretty big gap.”
Barriers to accessing the polls and privacy concerns
There’s a lot to consider to make sure voting locations are accessible — the size of entryways, the slope of ramps, the way doors open and much more. Disability Rights Iowa even created an accessibility pamphlet that can be used as a ruler to check those measurements.
Haugan said a common issue in Iowa is that poll workers don’t always have the accessible machines set up and ready to go.
“That’s really a big part of our role here at DRI is to smooth those things out — work with the county auditors, work with the Secretary of State’s office to ensure that folks with disabilities can enjoy their right to vote the same as anyone else,” she said.
Several Iowans with various disabilities who spoke to IPR said they haven’t encountered barriers that stopped them from voting. But privacy can be an issue, and they worry about others who may not have reliable caregivers to help them vote.
Alex Watters, a member of the city council in Sioux City, uses a wheelchair and doesn’t have much use of his hands. Poll workers help him fill out his ballot, but Watters said that can feel a bit uncomfortable because people recognize him from the local news.
It should feel private, and sometimes it just doesn’t. It’s difficult, but for me it’s worth it to still cast a ballot.Alex Watters, Sioux City City Council member
“It should be private,” he said. “It should feel private, and sometimes it just doesn’t. It’s difficult, but for me it’s worth it to still cast a ballot.”
Watters said perceived barriers to voting can be as big of an issue as actual barriers.
“At the end of the day, that comes down to marketing. That comes down to education, and letting people know what their rights are, what accommodations can be provided and all of the different ways that they can vote or be assisted in voting,” he said.
Raising awareness
Watters said he doesn’t think the state is doing enough of that targeted messaging, and it falls on advocacy groups to get the information out.
Haugan said Disability Rights Iowa used billboards for that this year.
“One of our slogans was, ‘It’s not democracy without you,’” she said. “For Iowans with disabilities, that’s just really, really true. We want to make sure that everyone knows they have a right to vote.”
As part of their voter participation efforts around the election, DRI and the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council held Statehouse candidate forums this fall for the first time. The events focused on some key issues for voters with disabilities.
DRI Executive Director Catherine Johnson said the organization will also continue to advocate for making voting more accessible, and to make sure election workers are trained to accommodate voters with disabilities.
She said people with disabilities make up a large share of Iowa’s population — estimates range from 13% to 26%.
“We are a powerful minority group, and we need to make sure that our interests are listened to by the state Legislature,” Johnson said. "So I urge all Iowans with disabilities to go vote.”
There are still some questions surrounding turnout of disabled voters in this election. Voting laws have been tightened since 2020, when some aspects of voting were made more accessible because of the pandemic.
But disability rights advocates say voters should make a plan to vote and make sure their voices are heard.
Find more information about voting here.
There’s more information for voters with disabilities here.
DRI says if people with disabilities experience problems while voting, they should contact their county auditor or the Secretary of State’s office, and also let DRI know.
