O P I N I O N
THE SOAPBOX

Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn.
In 1980 my husband, Jim, voted for the first time. Jim uses a wheelchair, and 40 years ago polling places were not required to be accessible. He had requested an absentee ballot, but it hadn’t showed up in time. He was going to school three hours from his home so on election day he had to arrange a ride home and sit in the car while three people watched him vote.
While working on a video about Jim’s experience, I came to a frustrating realization – as hard as it was for him to cast his vote then, voting in NH has not gotten much easier.
You can only vote by absentee ballot if you meet one of the following:
• You will be out of town on election day; or
• You have a religious observance that prevents you from voting in person; or
• You have a physical disability or illness that prevents you from voting in person; or
• You have an employment commitment or must care for an adult or child during the entire time polls are open; or
• You are confined in a penal institution for a conviction of a misdemeanor or while awaiting trial; or
• You are a member of the Attorney General’s Address Confidentiality Program or are protected by a Domestic Violence Protective Order; or
• The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm, blizzard, or ice storm warning for your town/ ward for election day, and you have concerns about safely traveling in the storm.
These restrictions unfairly force people to disclose personal information to exercise a basic right.
And it leaves so many people who might need to vote absentee out. Have an intellectual or mental disability that makes crowds overwhelming? Too bad! No transportation on election day? Too bad! Just exhausted after a full day of employment and childcare? Sucks to be you.

Even if you can make it on election day, voter ID requirements create another hurdle. No photo ID? We’ll give you a free voter ID, but you have to figure out how to get to the DMV. Good luck with that.
It’s like someone is benefiting from disenfranchising certain voters including the disability community.
In the video, we encourage people to plan how they will cast their vote now. Nearly a full month before the primary. That’s ridiculous! Figuring out how to exercise a basic right shouldn’t be this hard!
No-excuse absentee voting would fix some of these issues. If anyone can vote absentee, voters with disabilities wouldn’t have to disclose their status. If the state mailed voter registration forms and absentee ballot applications to all potential voters, we wouldn’t have to scour a confusing website for overly complex information. If applications and ballots included a postage paid envelope we wouldn’t be saddled with a poll tax in the form of postage.
Eliminating voter ID requirements takes care of the others. Our current voter ID law was allegedly intended to prevent widespread voter fraud. Only ….people impersonating registered voters to cast a fraudulent ballot isn’t a thing. This law just makes it harder for marginalized communities to participate in their own democracy.
Here’s what I want you to do:
• Watch Jim’s video below – It’s a remarkable story and we’ve included information on accessible and absentee voting.
• Encourage your representatives to pass a No-Excuse Absentee Voting law
• Advocate to eliminate NH’s voter ID requirements
• Vote with us on September 10th for the primary and November 5th for the general election
See you at the polls!
Patricia Vincent-Piet lives in Concord and is CEO of Able Writer.
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