Report: Barriers To Voting For SC Disabled

STATE URGED TO ADOPT ELECTORAL REFORMS

|| By FITSNEWS || A report scheduled to be released this week claims “voters with disabilities” face barriers when it comes to casting their ballots.

Wait … just the disabled?  Clearly these folks haven’t been to Richland County, S.C. – where barriers to polling access were deliberately erected in anti-tax districts in an effort to secure passage for a $1.2 billion sales tax hike.  Yeah … that happened.  And no one’s done a damn thing about it.

Anyway, according to the findings of a report by Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, “voters with disabilities do not have equal opportunity to vote in South Carolina.” Furthermore, the report “outlines changes that are needed in the South Carolina voting process to assure that all voters, including voters with disabilities, can exercise the right to vote privately and independently.”

The group based its findings and conclusions on the basis of “accessibility surveys at 303 polling precincts across the state during the general election.”

“Unequal access for voters with disabilities continues to plague South Carolina,” said Gloria Prevost, the executive director of the group.  “This is not just an issue in a few select precincts. Voters with disabilities face barriers statewide.  The state has a responsibility to uphold the fundamental right of voting access for all citizens.”

We agree … including white people who don’t like tax hikes (and can walk).

Are these rights being protected, though?  Hell no … 

Anyway, regarding expanded access for disabled voters, the group proposes …

• County Election Administrations are trained on how to conduct polling place accessibility surveys and every polling place in each county is evaluated on a regular basis.
• Polling places found inaccessible are either made temporarily accessible on Election Day or relocated to accessible locations.
• Curbside voting is implemented consistently across the state to meet the Department of Justice’s recommendations on curbside voting practices.
• Consistent, clearly readable, and well-placed signage is available at every polling location across the state to assist all voters in the electoral process.
• Training for County Election Administrations and poll managers includes information about the rights of voters with disabilities, laws, best practices, and the rights of people with disabilities.

Yeah … okay.  All of that sounds fine.  We don’t have a problem with any of those things.  After all, voting (to the extent it matters anymore) is a core function of government – so it ought to be done properly.  And funded commensurately.  But in adopting these measures to ensure fair access to the disabled – who are a subset of a declining demographic (a.k.a. VOTERS) – we’re missing the bigger picture.

Bottom line? If rigged elections that raise our taxes are permitted to stand, what is the point of casting a ballot in this state?

Good question, people … that’s a good question.

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