Crutch user comes through the door of the Registrar of Voters
As relieved as I was by last week’s election (except for California’s continued homophobia) I was especially pleased to see recognition of our voting power in our local newspaper.
My disability story on election day is when I went down the hill to my polling place. As I came in the front door I was greeted by two of the polling workers. They were excited that their efforts putting together the accessible voting booth wouldn’t go unused. I guess it’s the availability of absentee balloting that’s resulted in me being the only one to use the booth. I like using the voting machine. It has the most usable user interface for an electronic device since the Tivo wand.
I used to vote absentee until a disability activist I admire, Catherine Campisi, told me that she and her husband always vote publicly at their polling place. Her rationale is that people need to see disabled people voting. It’s one of the ways we claim our place in society.