Tips if you're asked to support someone to vote
Sometimes people aren't sure why they should vote. Or they want support reviewing the candidates and issues. But how do you help without overly influencing?
The Arc’s national office has some materials on voting in Plain Talk: https://thearc.org/vote/
They
start by asking people to pledge to vote and then help them confirm that they are
registered. They also include resources you might find helpful if you are supporting someone to vote.
- There is a Plain Talk voters’ guide
- There is a Plain Talk guide on disability topics (Thinking about Disability)
- And there are questions to ask a candidate. The questions can help guide you as you review candidate statements or endorsements. They include important disability related topics.
Here are other materials:
- Voter assistance guidelines from Disability Rights Washington. These focus more on physical accessibility, but there are guidelines for personal care assistants you might find helpful
- Rooted in Rights has a Do's and Dont's video for people who need assistance voting
- Rooted in Rights also has a Vote for Access series
- If you want to research state legislative candidates, you can check and see if they answered the questionnaire the The Arc of Washington sent out
- You can also check out Be an Informed Voter on The Arc of King County's website
Some general principles for supported voting:
Start by informing the person of their right to vote.
You might want to discuss what voting is, why people vote, and why people feel it is important to vote (see below)
Don’t assume help is needed; be ready to offer it
If supporting someone to vote, avoid improper influence:
- Stay neutral
- Don’t override a choice
- Don’t make the voter feel forced in making a certain decision
- Don’t withhold or give false information
- Let them know they don’t have to vote on every measure/candidate. If they can’t decide, they can skip
- Remember: This is their vote, their decision
Explain voting directions and materials
Make sure the person has an opportunity to privately and independently change their ballot before it is cast
Review for errors (like mistakenly voting for two candidates) and offer the person the opportunity to fix the erro
Make sure the ballot is signed (or witnessed)
NOTE: Employers and union reps are NOT allowed to personally assist with helping a person with a disability vote.
On why vote:
Voting materials often assume an understanding of government and public policy. But not everyone is given an education in U.S. civics. Here is an explanation of government/public policy that we use on the advocacy team at The Arc of King County:
What public policy is, and why people vote
Our communities are full of supports to help people learn, stay healthy, work and play. They include
- Buses, and roads
- Schools
- Dentists and doctors
- Parks
Some people may use one kind of support more than others, but everyone uses supports. When you are little, schools are really important. When you are older, you might care more about being able to get to the store.
There are a lot of supports. And there are a lot of decisions that need to be made about these supports.
- How to provide them
- Where to offer them
- How to pay for them
- Does everyone get them? Or just some people?
The community gets to pick people to make these decisions. We hold elections to pick people to make decisions about what supports our community is going to offer.
- Example: Should all kids be able to go to school?
We also pick people to make decisions about the rules we all agree we should follow.
- Example: Should we be able to throw trash in a lake?
The people who make these decisions, and then make sure the supports are offered and the rules are followed, are called “government.”
People in the community – like you - get to help pick the people who make up government. You do that by voting.
