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Abstract

While the expansion of voting rights across race, class, and gender is a celebration of American democratic progress, this progress has always excluded disabled Americans. It was not until the late 20th century that the Voting Rights Act and Americans with Disabilities Act successfully codified provisions like voter assistance and large-print ballots. Today, disabled voters are once again silenced by state and federal governments. Conservative lawmakers push to restrict voter assistance, absentee ballots, and electronic voting, claiming that such accessibility made the 2020 election vulnerable to fraud and skewed its results. Analysis of current data and literature finds no evidence linking increased accessibility during the 2020 election to increased voter fraud. Instead, this paper posits post-2020 electoral reforms as acts of minority voter suppression within a growing conservative political climate. These conclusions reveal the politicization of voter accessibility, aiming to encourage elected officials to advocate for universal ballot access.

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