Issues Facing Voters with Disabilities on Election Day 2020

Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guest, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

It's Election Day! It's Election Day! Wow, doesn't it seem like it took a long time to get here? And now that we're here, it's like zoom, we're here. What a great day for everyone in America, because I want to remind you that if you lived in other countries, there are countries you would not have the right to vote. So it's like President Obama said once, "I don't care what name you call me, because isn't it great you can call me names and still live?" And that is so true, so true. I am really excited today because I have a co-host, and my co-host is none other than our On the Half Hour anchor, Perry Jude Radisic. Perry Jude, welcome.

Hey Joyce, it's great to be here. It's a great Election Day and we're so grateful the weather is good, at least in our state of Pennsylvania.

Yes, it is. And listen, you know what you need to do, right? Get out and vote. You've got to get out and vote if you haven't voted. Get out and vote. And, you know, I've let everyone know that if you're a person with a disability and you have any issue, to call, we'll help you, or send in your questions. So it's ironic that one of the questions, Perry Jude, actually happened to an employee of mine. I mean, the same thing happened. This did not happen to my employee, But this morning my employee went to vote, and after he voted, he went to leave, and a minivan had blocked the getting in, getting out. Now, a person with a disability— because what I did, I sent out notes to, you know, many of the people you know, disability leaders, and someone said when they went to vote There was a car parked there and they said the battery was dead. Now, how I'm finding these things out is that this morning I called many of the disability rights leaders in Pennsylvania and I asked them to send me quick emails about anything they heard. So, Perry Jude, what do you do? What do you do when the person says, sorry, the battery's dead and are holding up you getting in to vote if you are using paratransit.

Well, uh, and, and the battery's dead and you're using paratransit?

No, no, that, no, that person said the battery was dead in their car. You know, the person blocking. And they could—

person blocking. Yes, yes. So I, I would go back and talk to the election judge and make them get a vehicle to tow that car away because there are reasonable accommodations and that car should have never been there in the first place. And there's so much confusion still. I know because I've been on the phone with a county in Pennsylvania all day long trying to set up a reasonable accommodation for a voter this afternoon. So I know the confusion. Out there about what is accommodations that are owed to voters with disabilities. And so if a car broke down, either that person has to go get a tow or the election judge has to call for one to get that car out of the way. Absolutely.

Where is the— where's the election judge at?

Well, the election judge should be at that polling location. There is someone in charge at that polling location all of the time. And in Pennsylvania, they're called the election judge.

So that's what you should do. That's that. And I guess you would have to have us and let us resolve it. Okay, what is your— let's, let's give them your number at Disability Rights PA.

It's 800 800-692-7443.

You want to repeat it?

Yes, it's 800-692-7443, and we are there. We started at 7, we'll be there till 8 o'clock at night, uh, troubleshooting disability issues at polling places and other obstacles that voters are facing today. We'll be there all day long.

Okay, so what are some of the things people are calling you about?

Sure, well, uh, today it is about polling places and last-minute voting. These are the two top issues. So again, uh, you know, we, we do training with poll workers, election officials, and we hope that the information really resonates, but sometimes people even at the highest level think an accommodation is just a ramp. You know, I'm going to fix this curb, I'm going to bring a ramp, and so the ADA accommodation at the polling place ends here. And that's not the case. And so people don't understand the depth and breadth of accommodations. That can and must take place at a polling location. So we frequently get phone calls about all the other accessibility issues and accommodations, reasonable accommodations that must take place at a polling location on Election Day. So those calls are coming in. Other calls that come in are Look, I thought I was going to go to the polling place on Election Day. I waited, but now I find myself in a rehabilitation center, or I find myself in a hospital, or I now have COVID and I can't get to the polling place. So what do I do? Well, Pennsylvania has an emergency absentee ballot. If you go to our website, you'll find the link to votespa.com, which will send you right to the emergency ballot application. You have to do this by 8 o'clock tonight. You can send a representative to go to the York County's board to go and get, get the ballot for you. You have to have a reason, and then they can bring the ballot back to you. And then return that ballot for you. It is a bit of a complicated process, so call us, we'll walk you through that process to get an emergency absentee ballot. But that is the other issue that comes up for us over and over again. And in hospitals, if you're in a hospital, there are social workers there who do know how to access an emergency absentee ballot for voters at the last minute in our hospitals across the state.

So if you're in a nursing home or a facility, you can request this, is that correct?

Uh, well, how's this for an answer? Maybe. We have been, you know, the disability community, I want to say the Centers for Independent Living and Disability Rights Pennsylvania and other organizations and the state of Pennsylvania have been working to make sure people in long-term care settings access the vote, especially during COVID-19. Where it's more difficult to leave a facility and then return because upon return you have to quarantine. So it's really a barrier to go vote if you're in a long-term setting. People are doing it and can do it today, but what's going to happen is you're going to have to follow protocols when you leave the facility and go vote to come back because of COVID-19. So it's a complicated answer in terms of going to vote from a long-term care facility. You have to know your— if COVID-19 is present, and then you have to follow protocol upon return to go vote. Absentee ballots, I'm not so sure about that. Because of COVID-19 if you yourself don't have COVID-19. I don't think you could do that. But I will tell you, people have been really pushing voting in long-term care facilities to make sure people had an absentee ballot or a mail-in ballot and returned those before the deadline.

Right. Well, if you're listening to the show and you are a person with a disability and you have a problem, call in 1-866-VOTE. 1-800-472-5788, or, uh, Perry Jude, your number again?

Yes, it's 800-692-7443. We have staff answering the phones right now.

If you are, uh, a spouse, partner, parent, aunt, uncle, friend of a person with a disability and you have a question, you can also call us. So, Perry Jude, we have one right here. How are the polling places accommodating people with mobility disabilities when the lines are so long at the polls?

Hey, thanks for that question. It actually came up today on a call we got from a county in Pennsylvania. So, so when the line is long, there are really two options. If you are— have a physical disability and you are not in a, like, a power chair or wheelchair, you can go to the front of the line and look for the election judge, the person who is in charge of the polling place. And you can request one of two options. One, you can ask that a chair be provided to you. And you can sort of mark your place in line and sit in a chair until, you know, that place in line comes to the front. And then you can go vote. The other reasonable accommodation is that you can go to the front of the line. Now again, there are people who do not understand the extent of what a reasonable accommodation means to policy and practices for that polling location. So, so sometimes election judges will provide some resistance to those requests for a chair or to come to the front of the line. If you have a mobile phone, you can call us at Disability Rights Pennsylvania and we'll talk to that election judge. Hand the phone to the election judge and we'll talk to them and let them know about the reasonable accommodations process under the Americans with Disabilities Act for polling places. And hope that that resolves the issue for you. So that's what we would suggest. I hope that answers the caller's question. And that's really for any state, whether you're in Pennsylvania or any other state. Call your Protection and Advocacy agency. The other place you can call if you're out of state is 866-R- 866-R-VOTE. It's election protection, and they will put you in touch with the same information or your protection and advocacy agency. If you go to our website at disabilityrightspa.org, I have a list— and click on our show today— I have a list of all the election protection hotlines in Arabic. I have them in Spanish. I have them in Vietnamese, Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin, Hindi. So visit our website, get these hotline numbers if you need them. I also have them for the National Association of the Deaf, who's running an ASL voter hotline. The National Federation for the Blind is running a hotline. There's a text line, a Spanish text line, and if you're a state that has curbside voting, you can text "curbside" to 43367 if you're having a problem with curbside voting. So all of these resources are at disabilityrightspa.org. Click on our show for today, and we have all of those hotline numbers at Advocacy Matters for today.

That's great, Perry Jude. That's great that you have all of those languages. Wow, fantastic. That is great. Sorry about that. I was choking there for a minute. Okay, here we go. And email questions are also coming in. Here's one. What protection do I have if I have COVID with underlying issues?

That's another great question, and, uh, and you want to go to the polls today and you want to vote, um, really. So the, the, um, I would call So the polls are following protocols for social distancing and for cleaning the machines. So I would go ahead and go to the polls with your mask. If you have gloves, wear your gloves and stay in line and social distance 6 feet. If the people around you are not abiding by the 6 feet, mark your place in line and then go and ask the election officials to enforce the COVID-19 protocols for you. Again, if they are not doing that, I don't know what state you're in. If you're in Pennsylvania, call us. And we can talk to the election judge for you. If you're in another state, you can call Election Protection at 866-R-VOTE, and they will, uh, help you, uh, with that issue. But the polling places are supposed to be following protocols for COVID-19 and social distancing. And if they are not, then you need to talk to the election judge to make sure that they are enforcing those protocols. I hope that answers your question.

Yeah, and, um, I actually have a part 2 question to that. What do I do if someone has COVID is not wearing a mask and purposefully moving back toward me. I think what this person probably means, if you would get out of line.

Yeah, I would, I would say that that is, uh, all of a sudden turning into voter harassment and, uh, is not actually The person is no longer there to just vote, but it is turning into voter harassment. So if, again, if you have a mobile phone, call 866-R-VOTE, uh, and that transcends, uh, all issues that voters are facing that day. 866-R-VOTE, they have roaming, uh, volunteers who can help deal with voter harassment on any issue for the day. And again, that's 866-R-VOTE, because if someone is, uh, and that you know or has expressed that they have COVID is not wearing a mask and is actually getting close to people, that is indeed considered voter harassment. And, uh, 866-R-VOTE will be able to deal with voter harassment for the day.

Yeah, and, uh, yeah, I agree. No, if you got out of line, would you be able to go up to the front and tell them what happened and still vote?

Absolutely. I would call 866-OUR-VOTE to report voter harassment and then report to the election judge what is happening. Uh, in Pennsylvania we call the constable when there is voter harassment happening, uh, and, uh, not the police, but we call the voter— we call the constable, uh, to remove that person. Uh, but there may be other things, uh, that Election Protection might want to do for the day. So that's why I would suggest both Election Protection and— and you're right, Joyce, uh, to inform, uh, the election judge of what what's going on.

Yeah. And before I continue, Perry, did you have some information you put together that you wanted to review?

Yes. So, but I want to go back to harassment and intimidation.

All right, go ahead, go ahead.

Yeah. Pennsylvania, you know, is such a key state today, Joyce, and you read about it in the news. That's all the people are talking about is Pennsylvania being— we call it the Keystone State, but we're kind of a keystone state for different reasons today. And all eyes are on us. And so it's politically charged. And we had a candidate ask people to, to go to Philadelphia and to watch for fraud and illegal voting. And I can assure you that our county election officials are engaged in safe and legal voting, and every vote will count in Pennsylvania. And it is going to take a while to count all of the votes in Pennsylvania. We have a record number of voters, of voters with disabilities voting for the first time, of Black and Latinx voters and Asian Pacific Island voters in Pennsylvania and across this country going to vote and voting for the first time. So it is going to take a while to count the votes, and we will not know, uh, until a few days after the election all across this country of, of who has won, because we have to count every vote. So I just want people to understand that all the votes may not be tallied tonight. They may not be tallied tonight. And so, uh, we may need to wait for a few more days to count the vote. Now, having said that, there is some voter intimidation that has already happened in Pennsylvania. And, uh, yeah. And so The constables and law enforcement took care of it right away. The voters complained, as they should have. Election officials took care of it. They called the authorities, and those people were removed from the area. They were not poll watchers. They were there to yell and scream and intimidate in a variety of ways. The voters who were in line to vote. So if you see this happening, whether it's COVID or in another aggressive way, that is not poll watching, that is harassment, and you must report that. And you can do that at 866-OUR-VOTE or by going to the election judge, and it will get taken care of and, and done so in a prompt manner.

Because I want to say, I mean, I know this is a terrible thing to suspect, but you know, there could be someone that really does not have COVID that could cough and do all of this stuff just to frighten the person. Do you know what I mean? There is— I mean, anything's possible. This is such a politically charged election, just as you said. But I want to go back to something Perry Jude said. And that is this evening, whether it's Vice President Biden or President Trump, we don't know who won. If they say they won, they don't know. And the reason they don't know is, come on, voting, whether it's till 8 o'clock or whatever, after the polls are closed, you still have all the millions of ballots you have to count, or that were dropped off. Somewhere. Perry, do you remember you told me the difference in Pennsylvania just a couple years ago about the number of mail-ins? Could you tell them that?

Yes, absolutely. So, uh, in, in 2016, in the presidential election, there were about, oh, just under 300,000, maybe 250,000 mail-in ballots. Let me tell you where we are today. Right now, as of Monday morning, the Pennsylvania Secretary of State, Kathy Bochvar, reported that 2.4 million voters returned their mail-in ballots. 2.4 million Pennsylvania voters. Some of them are new. Some of them are Joyce Bender listeners. You, the listeners, returned your mail-in ballots, 2.4 million of us. Wow. Just a little more than 3 million voters requested mail-in ballots. That's 78% of the people who asked for a mail-in ballot have already returned their ballot. That's as of Monday morning. So more ballots are being returned on Monday and more ballots are being returned today. Wow, that's a great number, Joyce.

That is a great number.

I'm sorry, go ahead, Joyce. No, no, I said you're right, that is a great number as compared to 2016 when we had about 250,000 mail-in votes.

Wow, that's why I said this won't really be known right away?

No.

Who won the election?

That's right. Go ahead. Now, if you're across the country or in Pennsylvania and you still have your mail-in ballot, you really have two choices right now. You could mail it in, at least in Pennsylvania. You could still mail it in and have it postmarked today. Well, here's the problem. If you decide to do that today, we know the mail has been slow. You may not— that they— you still could miss that deadline of getting your ballot in by Friday. So I'm going to tell you, don't mail in your ballot. If you still have your ballot and you thought you were going to mail it in today, I'm telling you, don't do it. So you have two choices now. Forget that choice. You, you're going to have to fill out that ballot and take it to the drop box. And you can go to votespa.com and find out where your drop box is, or you can call us at Disability Rights PA. We'll tell you where your drop box is.

Oh, that's awesome.

Take it to your drop box. Your other choice is to take your ballot, don't fill it out, take your ballot to your polling place. They'll do what they need to do with it to make sure they know you did not vote, and you can go to a machine and you can vote yourself. That's what you can do. So now, if you filled out your ballot, you can still take it to the polling place. They're going to have to sort of figure out what to do with that, but you can vote by provisional ballot or just go drop it in a drop box. Do not mail it. I don't care who you voted for. You— that ballot is not going to get there in time. It's just— I'm telling you, it's not going to get there. Don't, don't count on the mail. Don't do it.

Don't do it. Good advice. Don't do it. Um, earlier today when I spoke to friends of mine in the disability rights community, uh, late morning today, some other issues came up, questions came forward in addition to emails that I received. So the The question is, if my son is deaf, how can I be assured there will be a sign language interpreter? I assume they mean at the polls.

Yeah. So there— you can't, unless you call in advance and call the county and ask for an accommodation, there is no way you can assure that there will be a sign language interpreter at your polling location for your son. So that you will have to call in advance the county, let them know what time to expect your son is going to go to the polls, and let them know so they can arrange for some— someone to be there for that accommodation. And that would be the best advice I have, uh, for your son, is to call the county in advance Let them know about what time your son's going to show up. May have a line, may not be a line. And then, uh, and then give them the opportunity to arrange for a sign language interpreter. I would say there's just too many polling places in Pennsylvania for each of the counties to provide an interpreter at every polling place. So the best opportunity is to call them in advance or to somehow get a video relay service to provide that as an alternative effective communication and just still let the counties know so that they can make sure that can happen.

Um, Perry Jute, how big of an issue is accessibility for people that go to vote? We'll start with getting into the polling place? I mean, are they all— you mentioned before about a ramp, but a ramp alone, you know, won't do it. I mean, are these places, as the ADA, are they required to have a way to get in? How does that work?

Yes, every polling place must meet the, uh, the ADAAG regs. So they have to. In fact, if you want to know what those requirements are, I— you know, the Department of Justice has a checklist for polling places. And so the counties are required to go and survey each polling place and then to return information to the Secretary of State letting them know that their polling place is accessible. Once that's happened, you can type in your address and there should be the International Accessibility logo to indicate to voters that their polling place is indeed accessible. However, that isn't always the case. Today, for example, in Pennsylvania, voters have showed up to the polling place only to find a sign on the door that says their polling location has moved. So when that happens— oh no— we have no idea whether the polling place is accessible or not and whether someone has surveyed that location or not. So I, I still think polling places have been changing so frequently that we cannot rely on the accessibility indications, or they change them, we don't know where they're going, and we don't know if they've been surveyed, and we don't know if they meet the guidelines. And if temporary modifications are being deployed quickly when polling places have changed on the day of the election.

What about for people who are blind? What about that? Are the machines available? Are they accessible? How is that going in PA?

Yeah, not well. I feel like not only in Pennsylvania but across the country We've, we've taken steps backwards, and it's because we've shifted to paper ballots, um, and technology has not kept up with the paper ballots. So because of security concerns, uh, over elections, uh, the country has made a shift towards paper ballots. I can tell you there's at least one county, if not more, in Pennsylvania when you walk in, they hand you a paper ballot to fill out. Uh, now they should have kept a machine, uh, for people, uh, who require a machine, uh, for accessibility reasons, uh, to be able to access that. But unless somebody reports to us that that's not the case and they can't vote privately and independently, um, I— we cannot resolve that issue. So if, if that's the case for you, uh, you need to call us and let us know so we can resolve it, because there are counties handing out paper for people to vote. Now, the Help America Vote Act requires, uh, that people with disabilities be able to vote privately and independently, and I just think We have taken a step backwards. And so, the disability community across the country and nationally needs to get together and figure out what we're going to do before the next presidential election or the next congressional election because it's— we can't be handing out paper ballots across the country. We just can't.

Yeah, right. You know what? That is a sad situation. That really is, you know, that's really a sad situation for people with disabilities who are vision impaired. And this may seem unusual, but here's the question: If I have to take medicine at specific times during the day and I am in a long voting line, can I leave and go ask for a drink of water and then get back in line?

I think that is a reasonable accommodation. If you have the capacity to bring your own water and snacks, I would do that. But I think that is a reasonable accommodation to ask when you get there to mark your spot in line, go get your drink of water, and then return in line. I think that would be a reasonable accommodation.

Well, you know what, because like me, I have epilepsy, so I mean, I understand, you know, and, you know, different disabilities, but I, you know, I like what Perry Jude said about plan to take a bottle of water with you and have snacks because it's such an ordeal right now. You know, you would hate to go through all that, you know, having to leave, come back, Who knows what would happen? I mean, you know, you could leave and then someone could say, "Sorry, you can't get back," although I don't think they'd be able to do that, but anything's possible right now. And, you know, I wanted to ask you, Perry Jude, when you talk about harassment, what do you mean? What do you mean about voter harassment?

Well, Joyce Bender, I can give you some examples. A person shows up to the line, is not a poll watcher, and starts yelling and screaming at the voters in line.

Ah, that's bad.

A person— no, a person shows up with an AR-15 strapped, to their shoulder and starts walking around the line.

Okay, are you allowed to take a rifle to a voting poll?

Uh, I don't know the gun laws, but I would think, uh, you would not be allowed to open carry. But I'm not, I'm not proficient in gun laws and polling locations. That would be, uh, an 866-R-VOTE. Question.

But yeah, I guess if you had the right to carry, that could be— now I know in Texas you can't, you know, openly walk around with a rifle or a weapon of some type. But once again, you know, someone has PTSD or a mental health disability, that would not be good. And I would call— I would make that call. What's that number again? To call, Perry June? 866-R-VOTE. 866-R-VOTE. No matter what happens, you've got to call in. You've got to, you know, I'll tell you what, that, that is what happened to me 4 years ago. I remember the person didn't have it, but they were standing there talking about that gun and how they love having that gun and going on and on and on about this gun. And I mean, it made me feel nervous. It did, you know. And, and so I can understand if that would bother someone if that happened to them. Oh, here we go. Uh, could you wear a shirt of any type that says something, or are there rules?

Uh, I, I think it varies across the country, uh, about what you can wear to the polls. Uh, in Pennsylvania, I don't think you are allowed— you, you were not allowed to wear any political party, uh, paraphernalia on you or a t-shirt for one candidate or the other. You're just not allowed to do that.

Well, what if it says Black Disabled Lives Matter?

Uh, well, that's not really a candidate, so you could probably do that. You could probably wear something that says Save the Earth, or, um, uh, yeah, or Black Lives Matter. You could, you could do that.

And what if you're asked to leave because you have that shirt on? Call that number again, right? Yes, uh, I would call 866, uh, our vote because that did happen to a couple people in, uh, Alabama. So, uh, I mean, that is happening, that has happened, that is, that is really terrible when you think about it. But you've got to stand up for your rights and your vote. Uh, Perry Jude, while we have some a little, a little time here. Do you have any other advice or comments you would like to give to people with disabilities listening to the show? Because remember, I know we have also a huge listening audience later today. So, you know, if someone missed this show, you have to tell them to go on and listen, although it's not live. That's the whole idea, on demand. Do you have any, anything you'd like to say as far as advice Joyce Bender, to people with disabilities maybe that are nervous about voting?

Yeah, so we're just hours from polls closing, just hours from polls closing, and the disability community has to, has to show up and vote. We just have to. And it's a— it's the most important election, really, of our time. If you think about what's at stake, disability rights are at stake, Black Lives Matter is at stake, LGBTQ rights are at stake, pre-existing conditions are at stake, minimum wage, jobs, the economy. The response to COVID-19, our local transportation. Why local transportation in Pennsylvania and across this country? Because I know our state budget in Pennsylvania is $5 billion in the hole. Why is it $5 billion in the hole? It's because of COVID-19, because people aren't spending money. People don't have money. Why don't people have money? Because they don't have jobs. We need a response to COVID-19. People are scared because of healthcare, losing healthcare, not having healthcare. Criminal justice reform, social justice reform, the list goes on. And for Disability Lives, we are in each and every one of these social justice movements. So our lives touch all of these movements. So we have to get out and vote. We just do. And I know we're voting at greater numbers. I know we are. But in these few hours that are left in this day, your vote, your voice is more important now than it ever has been. So, join with Black voices. Join with Latinx voices. Join with Asian and Pacific Islander voices. And get out there and cast your vote. You have a few choices left before these polls close. If you've got that mail-in ballot, Fill it out, take it to the drop box. If you can't get to the drop box, you can designate an agent. We have the form on our website. Go to our website at disabilityrightspa.org and use a designated agent to take that ballot to the drop box. See how easy that is? Don't put it in the mail. Use a designated agent. You can do that. In other states, you're going to have to call Election Protection, and they'll send you to the P&A, uh, to figure out, uh, what your options are with your mail-in ballot at this late date. Or go to the polls, bring some water, bring a snack, ask an election judge for an accommodation in line if you need it. Go to the front of line, If you have problems in Pennsylvania, call us at disabilityrightsPA.org, or our number is 800-692-7443. We'll help you out. We're live right now. So please vote. Don't let these hours tick by. And if the election is close, no matter who you vote for, no matter who you care about, No matter what issues you care about, if this election goes by and the candidate you wanted to win doesn't, and it's by a few votes, that could have been your vote. So please, please go vote, and we'll help you remove any barriers that you have. And yeah, that's what I would say.

Okay, well, oh well, Perry Jude, you are so awesome. What a true treasure you are to this country. Aren't we lucky to have you in Pennsylvania as the CEO of Disability Rights PA, uh, and on my show every week. You were just so awesome. I, I wanted to tell you, I got an email here that, uh, Disability Rights PA, your office, has— is sharing on social media this show. So isn't that awesome? You got to tell everyone, anyone that you're thinking of, oh my God, I got to get this to someone. You could still hear the show. Once again, Disability Rights PA, in, in addition to of course Voice America, is already going to share this out on social media, and that is so great. Uh, email. Okay, um, here's the question: am I allowed to accompany my brother if he has a cognitive issue?

That is a great, great question. Thank you for asking that question. The answer is absolutely, positively yes. You are allowed to accompany your brother. Your brother is allowed to designate you as someone to support him to vote. Pennsylvania, I think Pennsylvania has no voting competency law, so they should not give you a hard time about that. Now, there is a form that they may ask you to fill out, so do not be offended if they ask you to fill out a form. It is required. Some poll workers ask you to fill it out, others don't, but don't let that be an obstacle. Just fill the form out and don't be offended by it. Then go ahead and you can go ahead and assist your brother in voting. But yes, you can go to the polls with your brother and help your brother vote, and thank you for doing that.

You know, and I am here watching the email since I put something out and, uh, my social media. And I just want to say, you still have 10 minutes left if you have a question and you get it right to me. I want to go back to what we were just discussing. So, Perry Jude, now exactly how does that work? What I mean is, they would probably say to you They want to be sure you do not vote, or how would that happen? Do you know what I mean? If you walked in with someone and you said, I am here to help them vote, what are going to be the rules for you? Like, are they going to say, okay, but you can't go vote, so I guess you already would have had to vote? I mean, what— how is that going to happen? What's going to happen there?

Sure, you're going to walk into the polling place and you're going to say, uh, this is my son, his name is so-and-so, and he's here to vote. And then he's going to sign his own name because, as we know, when you go in, you sign your name on a polling— on a book, a poll book. And, uh, and so then, uh They may ask you, or they may be familiar with people with cognitive disabilities, and they may just be okay and say, okay, well then, go over here and vote. And then you accompany your son to that polling place, which will be private, and then he goes ahead and votes the way he would. If he needs some prompting, then you would prompt him in the way that you do, uh, that would still allow him to vote, uh, in his independent way. Uh, if, if not, they may ask some questions, uh, that would require you to have to fill out a form that you are not voting for him, but you are just providing that support and assistance for him that day. And then you go and allow him to go ahead and vote. So it's really just like that.

And does that happen also, like, do people go in if someone is blind? Do they go in with them? Can they do that?

Sure. Uh, it's a person who is blind really should have a machine available that would allow them to vote privately and independently. I know some counties are handing out paper, but there should be some level of accessibility where they only need limited assistance from the poll workers to, to get them over to where they need to vote, maybe put, you know, load the machine and then allow the person with a disability to go ahead and vote.

Right. I, I will— first of all, Perry Jude, could you give your number again if someone here in Pennsylvania wants to reach your office?

Sure. Our phone number is 800-692-7443, and our website is www.disabilityrightspa.org. The partner organization that we're working with is Election Protection. They're across this nation, uh, is 800— I'm sorry, 866-OUR-VOTE. That's 866-OUR-VOTE.

You gotta vote, everyone. You've got to get out there and vote. Just as Perry Jude said, the disability vote is so important. You know, I'm a woman also living with disabilities like Perry, and you know, we can't, we can't raise our hand and say, oh, we want the Affordable Care Act, or to be, we want pre-existing conditions to be covered, or we want special accommodations. I don't care what it is, you gotta vote. You have to vote. I always tell people, don't complain if you don't vote. You've got to vote. And now you heard, if you need help, you know what to do. And if you're thinking, oh no, I know someone that had some of these questions, send them to this show. Disability Rights PA already has it going out on their social media. You can go. Perry, before we— Perry Jude, before we end today, um, Your office, how long will it be open?

Until 8 PM this evening when the polls close. But I want to tell everyone, you know, uh, I don't know what's going to happen in any state or in Pennsylvania as people continue to count votes and if there are challenges to people's votes. So Joyce, let's say, uh, your ballot randomly gets pulled for a voter challenge. If, if that's the case and you're a person with a disability and your vote gets challenged and you get notified of that, and call us or call 800-866— I'm sorry, call 866-OUR-VOTE, uh, because you may want to get some independent advice about what to do if somebody challenges your Vote. So if you're a person with a disability and your vote gets polled and you're challenged and somehow you get notified that your vote has been challenged, call us or call 866-OUR-VOTE, uh, so that, uh, you can get some advice about what to do.

Okay, um, well, we're coming to the end of the show. Uh, first of all, Perry Jude, oh, you're such a passionate disability rights leader. You know what, Perry Jude, we'll always remember this show.

Hey, thanks, Joyce. We'll always remember today.

Yeah, always that we had a show on Election Day. I'll always remember that. But you know what, we love all of you. You've got to vote. Tell other people about this show. And Yoshiko Dart, I said this last week, But I'm going to use your husband Justin Dart's quote again, which is, "Vote as if your life depends upon it, because it does." This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at VoiceAmerica.com. One word: vote. Talk to you next week.

We would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific time and 2 PM Eastern time for another installment of Disability Matters right here on the Voice America Variety Channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.