Virginia has committed to making the November 2020 election accessible and safe for voters who cannot mark a paper ballot privately and independently due to disabilities such as blindness.

In response to our lawsuit on behalf of several voters with disabilities, the American Council of the Blind of Virginia, and the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia, the Commonwealth has agreed to provide an absentee ballot option that is accessible and can be marked electronically in time for the November election.

“My clients are courageous individuals with print disabilities who should be able to engage in activities many of us take for granted. That’s why it is especially gratifying to help ensure that they will be able to exercise the most cherished right offered in a democracy – the right to vote privately and independently — on equal terms with other voters.” – Steven Hollman, Sheppard Mullin and member of Committee Board of Directors

Without this case, brought together with Brown Goldstein, Sheppard Mullin, and the disAbility Law Center of Virginia, voters with disabilities would be forced to either vote absentee with assistance, revealing their choices to another person and hoping that person correctly records their vote, or risk COVID-19 infection by travelling to the polls to vote in person. No voter should be faced with this untenable choice in order to exercise their right to vote.