Voting Rights

New! Electronic voting for those with certain disabilities.
MA Secretary of State William Galvin has settled a lawsuit filed by disability rights groups that will make it easier for voters with disabilities to request an electronic ballot so they can vote at home on their computer in the November election. Someone who cannot write or cannot see and is unable to fill out a paper ballot may request an electronic ballot, which can be filled out on their computer, e.g., a blind person can fill it out using a screen reader or a person who is quadriplegic can use a stick they move with their mouth to move a computer mouse.

The voter will have to request an electronic ballot via email or phone, with specific information provided to confirm the voter’s identity. They will have to submit a vote-by-mail application, which is available electronically and can be signed electronically. The voter will then be allowed to submit the ballot via mail or email, from an email address provided to a state voting official. The voter will have to sign an affidavit electronically verifying that they are an eligible voter, that they will not vote elsewhere, and that by casting a ballot electronically they are waiving their right to cast a secret ballot.

The deadlines for requesting and submitting electronic ballots are the same as for other ballots – they must be requested by October 28 and submitted or postmarked by the close of polls on Election Day.

Electronic Voting Detailed Instructions: https://www.dlc-ma.org/how-to-get-approved-to-use-the-accessible-vote-by-mail-avbm-program-as-an-accommodation/ (Disability Law Center)

Accessible Polling Places - All polling locations in Massachusetts are required to be accessible. All polling places must provide access on a permanent or temporary basis on Election Day.

Accessible Voting Procedures - A voter can choose someone to assist entering the polling location, checking in, entering the voting booth, preparing the ballot, exiting the booth and checking out.

Accessible Voting Equipment - Both federal law and state requirements mandate that voting systems be equipped for voters with disabilities allowing such voters to have the same opportunity to vote privately and independently. It is required that every precinct must have at least one accessible voting machine available. There is at least one accessible marking unit in every polling place in Massachusetts. The AutoMARK Voter Assist Terminals are marking devices that use audio cue capacity for visually impaired voters. The AutoMark also has a feature that will greatly magnify the ballot or display the ballot high-contrast for voters that have limited visual impairment. The AutoMark can also produce an oral report to the voter as the choices selected prior to the voter printing the ballot. For more information on the AutoMARK Voter Assist Terminal, please visit AutoMARK Video.

For Assistance Contact the Elections Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at 800-462-VOTE (8683) (toll free) or 617-727-2828. You may also e-mail us at elections@sec.state.ma.us.

- Source: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleaccessible/accessibleidx.htm

Voters with Physical Disabilities

Under the Massachusetts Voters' Bill of Rights, polling places must offer accessible parking, provide handicap access and make an accessible voting booth available.

Since individual cities and towns are responsible for elections, those who face physical barriers to voting should contact the ADA compliance officer in their particular municipality. The Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD), founded in 1981, is also available as a statewide resource for voters who have questions about access issues. (617-727-7440). MOD’s primary mission is to insure access and ADA compliance for Massachusetts residents of all ages.

Voters who are mentally ill, developmentally disabled, or otherwise cognitively impaired have the right to vote. Even those who have been placed under guardianship by the Probate Court retain the right to register and vote unless the court order specifically strips them of those rights.

Although the Massachusetts constitution (Amendments Article III) and state statutes (G.L. c. 51, §§ 1, 36) specifically provide that individuals “under guardianship” are not eligible to vote, these provisions are not enforced in practice and are most likely unconstitutional. The Massachusetts Secretary of State Elections Division’s Legal Counsel, in consultation with the state’s Department of Mental Health, Department of Mental Retardation (as DDS was called at the time) and Office of the Attorney General, noted in a 1992 legal opinion that courts and commentators had expressed “substantial” doubts about the constitutionality of a blanket provision that deprived all individuals under guardianship of the right to vote. The Election Division therefore concluded that the terms “under guardianship” must be interpreted for voting purposes to refer only to those guardianship decrees that expressly deprive the individual of the right to vote.