One in seven American voters with disabilities reported barriers to voting in 2022. Counties in Missouri have offered accommodations, but voters and voting rights advocates are still expressing concerns ahead of the general election about transportation and voter registration.
A 2022 study from the Missouri Foundation for Health showed that one in six disabled voters did not know how or when to register.
Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said she’s worked with the Missouri Council on Developmental Disabilities to help create more accessible voting information that’s available in both English and Spanish.
“Am I aware that there is a gap? Yes, but I also don't need a study to tell me that, because it's very obvious that there's a gap,” Lennon said. “Part of what we do is try to work with organizations in Columbia and the rest of Boone County to make sure that people are aware of their options.”
While there are transportation providers such as Operating Above the Standard, or OATS, who offer buses to the polls, Howard County Clerk Shelly Howell said many counties don’t have the resources to offer additional options.
“We're a small county,” Howell said.
Chimene Schwach is the director of advocacy at Services for Independent Living, a mid-Missouri social services organization. She said her organization will not be offering on-demand services on Election Day due to a shortage of drivers.
“I would love it if we could provide those services,” Schwach said. “But we don’t have enough money from the city or county.”
Other counties in the state currently offer curbside voting, accessible polling locations, voting systems that offer better audiovisual accessibility and permanent absentee voting. The Missouri Foundation for Health report also shows that in every election since 2010, the percentage of disabled voters in Missouri who cast a ballot trailed the percentage of non-disabled voters who voted.
Boone County Family Services and the Columbia Disability Issues Coalition will lead a forum for disabled voters on Oct. 28.
