Know Your Voting Rights

  • You have the right to vote privately.

    You have the right to cast your vote in secret. Even if you needed assistance getting to the accessible voting machine, you have the right to ask any poll worker or person with you to give you privacy as you cast your vote! It is your vote, no one else’s.

    It is illegal for anyone to try to intimidate you, threaten you, or coerce you into voting a certain way. You have the right to choose how you vote!

  • You have the right to vote independently.

    It is your vote! You do not have to vote a certain way because someone has told you to do so. You can talk to a family member, friend, or support person about the issues or the ballot if YOU want to, but ultimately your vote is up to you! You also have the right to an accessible voting machine so you can vote without further assistance if you wish.

    If you need or want to have assistance voting, you have the right to the support person of your choosing (as long as they are not a candidate in the election, your boss, or someone in your workplace union!). You can select a family member, friend, or trusted person to assist you - it does not have to be the poll worker.

  • You have the right to vote without barriers.

    The entire voting process should be accessible to you, no matter what disability you may have. Having a disability does not disqualify you from having the right to vote. There should be ample signage at your polling place, accessible and safe parking closest to the voting entrance, and accessible entry including: doors you can open, ramps and handrails if there are any stairs, doorways that are wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair or mobility aid, and a poll worker stationed to direct voters where to go or to assist with curbside voting. There should be a working accessible voting machine.

  • We're here to protect your rights.

    Disability Rights Mississippi is the protection and advocacy agency for people with disabilities in Mississippi. If you feel your voting rights have been violated in any way due to your disability, or you encounter barriers when trying to cast your ballot due to your disability, we are here to help!

    On Election Day, our Voting Hotline will be open from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. Call 800-772-4057 and advocates will be standing by to assist you.

    If you have any issue before or after the election, you can still call us at 601-968-0600!

Your vote.

Your voice.

Your rights.

Federal law mandates that all polling places for federal elections must be fully accessible to voters with disabilities. While curbside voting is one accessible option voters with disabilities can utilize, a polling place simply and only allowing curbside voting is not enough to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility requirements.

Every polling place must have at least one voting system that allows voters with disabilities to vote privately and independently. Usually, this is a machine that can read the ballot to you (there should be working headphones) and let you vote by pushing buttons (for people with mobility disabilities.

Voters with disabilities and voters have the right to receive assistance at the polls from the person of their choosing. (This person cannot be the voter’s employer, an agent of the voter’s employer, or an agent or officer of the voter’s union, or a candidate on the ballot.) The helper must respect the voter’s privacy and not look at the voter’s ballot unless the voter asks them to.

Election officials and poll workers including poll workers must make reasonable accommodations as needed to help you vote. Election officials must provide you with help if it’s possible for them to do so.

A poll worker cannot turn away a voter with any disability, including a mental disability, because the poll worker thinks they are not ‘qualified’ to vote.

How To Get Help at the Polls

If you are a voter with a disability and need assistance, here’s what you should know:

Bring a family member, friend, or another person of your choice to assist you at the polls, if you wish. Do not bring your boss, or an agent of your employer or your workplace union.

If you bring a person to assist you, let the poll workers know that when you check in. They may ask you to swear under oath that you have a disability and that you have asked that person to help you. Your helper may also be required to sign a form swearing that they did not tell you how to vote.

If you have a physical or mental health condition or disability that makes it difficult for you to stand in a long line, tell a poll worker.

If you need assistance of any kind, simply ell election officials what you need. For example, if it’s hard for you to stand, ask for a chair or a place to sit while you wait. If the crowds or noise are hard for you, ask for a quiet place for you to wait and be called you when it’s your turn to vote. These are reasonable accommodations and should be provided for you.

Know that you have the right to take your service animal into the polling place.

If you are not able to enter your polling place because there is not accessible parking and/or the pathway to it is not fully accessible (such as a door frame that is too narrow or lack of a needed ramp), you can ask poll workers for curbside assistance. Also call DRMS at 800-772-4057 to report the issue.

If you have any difficulty using the materials provided to make your ballot selections, review, or cast your ballot, let a poll worker know and ask for the help you need. Accessibility is the law.

Know that it is illegal for anyone to intimidate, threaten, or coerce you about how you should vote.

If you face any challenges in voting privately and independently or are unable to cast your vote, report it to DRMS at 800-772-4057. Trained advocates and attorneys can assist you to protect your rights — and make sure that other voters do not experience the same problem!

Information adapted from the ACLU Voting Rights Resource