Disabled access in US elections is lacking, according to the latest data

A recent one report written by digital privacy and security company NymVPN this year highlighted the new threat of AI deepfake photos and videos about the upcoming US elections and the patchwork of legislation within various states seeking to combat them. With this in mind, it can be reasonably argued that access to free and fair elections is currently not something anyone can take for granted, regardless of disability status.

But as is often the case for the disability community, barriers to access can be multi-layered, lending themselves both to emerging societal dangers and to challenges that are unique to people with disabilities and easily overlooked. An example of the latter can be seen in recent internal research from the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Last August, Lighthouse’s completely blind IT team audited 14 campaign websites for the upcoming Senate elections to check for accessibility issues primarily related to people with vision loss. These include elements such as whether pages are designed for ease of navigation, whether headings are structured appropriately, and the presence of alternative text for image descriptions. Geographic areas covered included Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Overall, none of the websites met ADA requirements for full accessibility. None of the fourteen campaign websites analyzed had an accessibility statement with a contact method for users to call for help. None had a signposted accessibility widget that allows users to adjust the font color and size.

Commenting on the results via email, Virginia Jacko, president and CEO of Miami Lighthouse, said: “More than 20 million people in the United States are blind or visually impaired. It was disheartening to see the results of our Website Accessibility Scorecard, which showed that the fourteen Senate campaign websites audited did not meet the ADA’s accessibility requirements. The data from this audit is a stark reminder that digital barriers still exist for blind and visually impaired voters, and that this lack of accessibility leaves out potential voters, especially seniors, in close races where every vote counts. It is our right to have a more inclusive democracy in which every voter, regardless of disability, can fully participate.”

Unfortunately, these findings are not entirely surprising. Facts A release from digital testing company QAwerk earlier this month found that 77% of online voter registration sites do not clearly label the various fields on the registration form, making it difficult for screen reader users to understand what information is needed. Furthermore, 23% of all websites that allow online voter registration have a low web accessibility index.

The problems are not just limited to the digital world. In 2017, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released data showing that as many as 83% of polling stations across the country were not fully accessible to users with disabilities. More recent local studies suggest that this trend continues to move in the same direction.

With Tuesday’s hotly contested showdown between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump about to go to the wire and people with disabilities making up 20% of the US population, the vote for people with disabilities, whether through its absence is likely to play a decisive role. An.