Detroit voters with disabilities voiced significant concerns during a recent City Council session regarding the unreliability of Voter Access Terminals (VATs) at polling locations. These issues, which reportedly impacted the August primary election, have raised calls for immediate improvements to ensure all residents can cast independent ballots in the upcoming November general election.
Sabrina Rice, who has been blind for 14 years, shared her experience during the August 4 primary. She attempted to use three different VAT machines over a two-hour period but was unable to cast her ballot without assistance. Rice stated, "This is a recurring incident," highlighting ongoing challenges. VAT machines are specifically designed to allow visually impaired individuals to vote privately and independently. Rice expressed her desire to vote independently, a right she feels is compromised when the machines fail. She noted that she has been voting since age 18 and has always sought to cast her ballot in secrecy, free from outside view.
Richard Clay, president of Detroit Advocates of the Blind and a grassroots leader, characterized the situation as a travesty, noting that the VAT machine he attempted to use was not working. Clay emphasized that the inability to use these machines effectively constitutes a violation of civil rights for hundreds of blind people and other voters with disabilities. Stephen Handschu, also with Detroit Advocates of the Blind, echoed these sentiments, describing the problem as a struggle endured by the community for years. He pointed to a lack of training for poll workers on VAT setup and use, coupled with the machines' unreliability, as root causes. Handschu noted the profound difficulty of not being able to vote independently and secretly, underscoring that there is no excuse for the ongoing issues.
The nonprofit advocacy group Detroit Disability Power has also documented widespread accessibility barriers at polling sites. Kaci Pellar, a policy manager for the group, stated that their surveys last year found 70% of individuals reported problems with VATs, in addition to issues with entrances and doorways. Pellar acknowledged the valuable technology VAT machines offer when properly configured, but warned that malfunctioning or improperly set up VAT machines create a hindrance to civil rights and federal voting laws. The group has conducted multiple surveys of polling sites, consistently finding problems.
In response to the public comments, the Detroit Department of Elections released a statement. The department confirmed that all 158 city polling locations are equipped with a Voter Assistance Terminal, with additional machines held in reserve. They stated that complaints about VATs are not often received, but when they are, a team is quickly dispatched to rectify the issue by resolving the problem or replacing the machine. The Department of Elections also noted that teams visit various polling locations on Election Day to ensure smooth voting for all Detroiters, including assisted voting. Furthermore, the department assigns a specialist, trained by elections office staff, to each polling location to assist differently-abled voters. A dedicated Americans with Disabilities Act call center is also available on Election Day to report VAT-related issues. The clerk's office has faced accessibility questions ahead of the 2025 city election, in 2024, and in 2022.
City Council members acknowledged the seriousness of the concerns. Council President James Tate, who is also a member of the city's election commission alongside Detroit Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett and City Clerk Janice Winfrey, stated he takes the public comments, which he referred to as "testimonies," very seriously and will not allow the issue to pass. Several other members of the council, including those on the Disability Task Force, shared his concern. Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero, representing District 6, called for better VAT training and plans to ensure enough working terminals for voters with disabilities. Council Member Denzel McCampbell of District 7, who serves on the Disability Task Force, emphasized the dire need to resolve these issues before the November general election, calling some of the shared experiences unacceptable.
