(Source: MIRS.news, Published 11/07/2024) (DETROIT) – Because her cerebral palsy impairs her ability to write, 68-year-old Marguerite Maddox planned on using the voter assist terminal (VAT) on Election Day. But when she arrived at her polling location, around 3:03 p.m., the device had not been prepared to accommodate her.
About an hour later, the poll workers had the VAT ready to be used. By the time Maddox sat down, her walker and service dog at her side, more than 300 residents had already voted in her Detroit precinct. But when the VAT did not print her ballot out on double-sided paper, the tabulating machine did not accept it.
Post-workday traffic flowed into Detroit Fire Department – Station 17. Seeing the busyness, Maddox chose to use a paper ballot, although it was difficult to use her hands. The first paper ballot was spoiled as she struggled to fill its bubbles.
On her third attempt, she was able to finish voting after 5:15 p.m., more than two hours later.
"Everybody was clapping for me because they all know me, and I do not play games," Maddox told MIRS on Tuesday, outside of her polling place. "My late grandmother used to always tell me, 'if you don't vote, do not complain . . .' Please go vote, because we can all make changes. When you vote, you can complain all you want."
MIRS met Maddox while shadowing Detroit Disability Power, a membership nonprofit dedicated to showcasing disabled Michiganders' political influence. On Election Day, the organization had nine individuals with election challenger credentials, visiting more than 120 voting sites to audit their disability accessibility.
In 2022, the group audited 261 polling locations throughout the election cycle, covering areas like Detroit, Dearborn, Center Line, Southfield, Warren and the Grosse Pointe communities.
The previous round of audits found 40 percent of polling places where disabled voters were not offered an accessible booth to privately fill their ballot, such as a lowered or seated booths where wheelchair- and walker-using voters could use a privacy screen. Also, 116 did not have an "accessible VAT," with several displaying error codes, one running out of printing paper and 38 not ensuring secrecy by how they were positioned.
On Election Day, MIRS followed Dessa Cosma, Detroit Disability Power's executive director, while she audited five election locations in Southfield, Oak Park and Detroit. Cosma is about 3 ½-feet tall and is a wheelchair-user.
At the Foreign Language Immersion and Cultural Studies (FLICS) School in Detroit, Cosma pointed to a metal sign holder used to keep the main entrance open. She explained that it would be difficult for someone with a larger wheelchair to travel in due to its chunky shape.
Earlier, at the Einstein Elementary School in Oak Park, a young man and woman occupied a disabled parking space without a pass. Although they said they were not with a candidate or campaign, they sat there with the trunk open and a lawn chair set up.
The space was one of two visible spots. The duo claimed that the man had a disability but forgot his pass.
When MIRS stopped at Randolph Career Technical Center, where 85 people had voted in Detroit's Precinct 248 by 2:36 p.m., a poll worker described how individuals vocally chose not to use the VAT, feeling like people could easily see who they were voting for.
Cosma said another location, the Detroit Lions Academy, has become a "persistent problem over the years," using metal planks as a wheelchair- and walker-accessible ramp.
"I see ramps that I would never in my life put myself on. So sometimes, when a precinct has one or two stairs, and they don't have a ramp, they'll put essentially two pieces of wood that are about the right width apart for a wheelchair, and then they expect you to, like, risk your life and roll up," Cosma said. "I'm not riding in any rides that an elementary schooler would make."
Meanwhile, VATs, like the device Maddox was attempting to use, provide audio and touch screen assistance. Federal statute mandates that every voting precinct has at least one "accessible voting system" available.
Maddox said she's been voting at the Detroit Fire Department – Station 17 since the late 1980s, and she usually spends 25 to 30 minutes voting there. In the last two presidential elections, the VAT was not ready for her to use.
In November 2016, before voters could apply for no-reason absentee ballots, Maddox waited for more than four hours to finish voting. During the 2020 general election, before the state had early in-person voting, Maddox was there for two hours.
Maddox did not reveal who she voted for, but clarified that, regardless of her disability, she prefers to vote in-person. She wants to physically feel how her vote counts, and honors the tradition of placing her ballot into the machine.
In addition to Tuesday's VAT obstacle, Maddox said, because the station's small door is inaccessible to her walker, the large entryways for the firetrucks needed to be opened to let her in. The notable openings could be refreshing during 71-degree afternoons like on Election Day, but not so much if the November day was chillier.
"The door is too narrow," said Maddox, adding that she hopes her precinct is relocated.
