There are a number of options in the State of California designed to make it easier for disabled voters to cast their ballots.
There are a number of options in the State of California designed to make it easier for disabled voters to cast their ballots. (source: youtube.com)

Ellen Perrault

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California Secretary of State Shirley Weber notes, on the department’s website, the state’s commitment to ensuring every voter is able to cast their ballot privately and independently. To this end, assistance is available for voters with disabilities. 

Those wishing to vote in person who may need help marking their ballot, can have up to two people help them with the voting process. This person cannot be their employer or anyone who works for their employer or their labor union leader or anyone who works for their labor union. 

Curbside Voting

Curbside voting is another option for disabled voters. It allows you to park as close as possible to the voting area. Once there, Elections officials will bring you “a roster to sign, a ballot, and any other voting materials you may need,” whether you are actually at a curb or in your car.

All polling places and vote centers are required by law to be accessible to voters with disabilities and will have accessible voting machines available.

Voting at Home

Remote accessible vote-by-mail (RAVBM) systems provide accessible options for voters with disabilities to receive their ballot at home and mark it independently.  In addition, audio and large print Voter Information Guides are also available to the hearing and visually impaired. 

The large print guides are available in several languages including English, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese. These guides are free. For more information regarding how to request them, visit vote.ca.gov. In addition, an audio MP3 version of this year’s voter guide is available at voterguide.sos.ca.gov/en/audio.

For more detailed information about what assistance your county offers to voters with disabilities, please check your county voter information guide or contact your county elections official. The Riverside County Registrar of Voters is located at 2724 Gateway Drive, Riverside, CA, telephone number (951) 486-7200, email address: rovweb@rivco.org.  The San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters is located at 777 E. Rialto Avenue, San Bernardino, CA, telephone number  (909) 387-8300, email address: communications@rov.sbcounty.gov.

For other questions and or concerns visit  or call the California Secretary of State’s toll-free Voter Hotline at (800) 345-VOTE (8683).

Ellen Perrault is retired and works occasionally as a freelance writer who contributes to publications in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Her primary focus is preparing/reformatting press releases and other public announcements–both municipal and nonprofit–for publication.