TERRE HAUTE — “Handicapped accessible” may mean wheelchair ramps and doors designed to open at the push of a button, but when it comes to voting at a satellite location in Vigo County, accessibility is in dispute.
Disabled voters have found that because of confusion regarding a state law, satellite voting is not for everyone.
Those who are disabled and need assistance to vote have been turned away from voting at the four satellite locations in Vigo County.
Jay Chickadaunce, 38, of Terre Haute was turned away Monday morning after waiting two hours in line to vote at the Southland Shopping Center satellite location.
Vigo County election officials believe that the law that allows a disabled voter to vote with a helper does not apply to satellite voting sites.
Chickadaunce’s mother, Dianna Williams, was visibly upset Monday afternoon as she helped her son out of the family’s van in their driveway on the city’s east side.
“We went to vote because we’re leaving town — we just decided to leave a couple of days ago,” she said. “And we waited two hours to vote and I get up there and the lady says you can’t go in there to help him vote, and I said, I’m his accommodation, and she said, well, no, not according to the law.”
Williams said the poll worker then made a call to the county clerk’s office, and while on the phone, Williams said, the worker described Chickadaunce as “a person in a wheelchair who probably has muscular dystrophy.”
Williams said she became very angry.
“That has nothing to do with him voting,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what his disability is.”
She added that she has been Chickadaunce’s helper since he began voting at age 21.
Chickadaunce will not get an opportunity to vote now, Williams said, for the first time in 17 years.
Williams said the poll worker told her that Chickadaunce had had four weeks to submit his vote.
“I told her I’m not on her timetable. She just denied my son the right to vote,” Williams said.
Indiana law allows certain voters — those who are disabled or who are unable to read or write English — to request assistance with voting, and to designate a person to assist. Some voters designate a spouse or parent; the only requirement is that the designated person must not be the voter’s employer or union officer, and that the designated person must sign a sworn affidavit.
For those who need assistance but do not designate someone to assist, there is a provision in the law stating that a voter may have the help of two official judges at a precinct, or may have two members of the absentee voter board assist if the person is voting absentee (one Democrat and one Republican).
The law does not mention satellite voting, likely because when it was written, satellite voting (absentee voting at locations other than the county courthouse) had not been established. The law states only that it applies to “each precinct and to absentee voting.”
Satellite voting is a type of absentee voting, but because the law is not clear, there has been confusion and inconsistency from county to county in Indiana — with some counties interpreting the law to mean that disabled voters needing assistance with absentee voting may use a designated person to assist at a satellite location, and other counties, including Vigo, refusing such assistance at satellite locations.
Vicki Pappas, director of the Center for Planning and Policy Studies at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, said Thursday in an e-mail that she had been to an early voting site in Monroe County, where she asked about their satellite voting policy for those who need assistance.
“I asked whether a person who is blind could have a helper and vote early, and there was an immediate ‘of course!’ ” Pappas wrote.
Steve Tschida, a Terre Haute resident who is blind, was turned away last week when his wife appeared at the satellite voting location in The Meadows shopping center to assist him. Several other voters contacted the Tribune-Star over the weekend, claiming that they, too, had been denied voting assistance at satellite locations in recent days.
Pat Mansard, the clerk for Vigo County, said Monday that she has been in touch with officials of the State Election Commission.
“It is still unclear in Indiana election law whether that is permitted,” she said. “I think it’s probably a situation where the law is not clear yet because it’s not caught up yet with all this satellite voting.”
“It’s too bad this was not clarified at the onset because we would have been happy to have assisted any person … if we thought we could do that within the law,” she said.
“There is confusion,” she added. “We had been told in the past that [a satellite location is] not like a regular polling place, and you don’t have the sworn judges there from the two parties to assist people. It really is still unclear.”
One of the discrepancies in the law as interpreted by Vigo County is that a disabled voter may receive an absentee ballot by mail and have the assistance of a designated person – out of the sight of any election officials – but may not have the assistance of that same designated person at a satellite location.
Teresa Kautz, another Vigo County resident, said her son was denied voting recently at a satellite location.
“Finally we were told that the clerk’s office would send out an absentee ballot that I could help him with,” Kautz wrote in an e-mail. “Rather silly, and frankly I’m not sure what the difference is other than wasting a stamp but that’s how it was.”
Mansard said that discrepancy is not within her control.
“I don’t pass the laws,” she said, “and we are dependent upon the advice that we get. We do not have an election law attorney at our disposal.”
A telephone call to Brad King, the co-director of the Indiana Election Division of the Secretary of State, was not immediately returned Monday afternoon.
Joe McLain, the Help America Vote Act Administrator for the Indiana Secretary of State, stated in an e-mail Friday, “A voter may have a person of his or her choice assist when completing an absentee ballot as long as this person signs the affidavit required under state law. I would recommend [Tschida] contact the Vigo County Election Board and attempt to vote early again if that is what his wish is.”
Mansard said she hopes no one will be discouraged from voting because of the confusion.
“We’re doing everything possible to do everything as perfectly as we can,” she said. “We go way above and beyond to encourage and assist everybody.”
Deb Kelly can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or deb.kelly@tribstar.com.
Election 2008
November 3, 2008
Accessibility issue causes problem at satellite location for disabled voter
- Election 2008
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Vigo County election results
More than 44,000 ballots were cast Tuesday of the nearly 80,000 registered voters, giving Vigo County a 55.76 percent voter turnout. Voters who cast provisional ballots have until noon Nov. 14 to show proper identification in the clerk’s office. Members of the Election Board will certify the results by the end of Nov. 14.
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Obama triumphs, will be first black U.S. president
Barack Obama swept to victory as the nation’s first black president Tuesday night in an electoral college landslide that overcame racial barriers as old as America itself. “Change has come,” he told a huge throng of jubilant supporters.
- Ellsworth downs Goode in District 8 In a strong Democratic election year, U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth was re-elected Tuesday to a second term as the 8th District congressman representing southwestern and western Indiana.
- House District 44: Former Greencastle major wins A former Greencastle mayor will head off to the Statehouse come January, and she said Tuesday night she’s ready to go.
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YOUTH VOTE: Sarah Scott students elect Obama, Daniels
Tribune-Star
Students and staff at Sarah Scott Middle School voted to make Barack Obama president and Mitch Daniels governor during a mock election Tuesday. - Vigo picks presidential winner again Vigo County voters chose Democrat Sen. Barack Obama as president, maintaining its status as a “bellwether” county, picking the winner in every presidential election since 1892 with only two exceptions.
- Harrison Township opts to keep assessor Voters in eight precincts in Harrison Township opted to retain a township assessor under a referendum vote on Tuesday’s election ballot. That’s was good news to Mick Love, who will retain his elected seat as Harrison Township assessor. The final tally on Public Question No. 1 was 6,587 for a “yes,” which would remove the office, to 9,506 for “no” which would retain the office.
- House District 46: Tincher pulls out win The race between Democrat incumbent Rep. Vern Tincher and Republican challenger Bob Heaton for the Indiana House District 46 seat went down to the wire Tuesday night, with Tincher pulling out a win.
- Republican Daniels wins 2nd term as Indiana governor Republican Mitch Daniels defeated former Democratic congresswoman Jill Long Thompson on Tuesday to win a second term as governor, but he may need a supply of olive branches to advance his agenda if Democrats retain control of the Indiana House.
- House District 45: Borders wins close race The Indiana House District 45 race between incumbent Republican Bruce Borders and Democrat Rick Marshall was too close to call for much of the evening Tuesday, with the final outcome apparent near midnight.
- House District 43: Kersey remains in seat Rep. Clyde Kersey, D-Terre Haute, will remain in the Indiana General Assembly for another two years, as the 12-year incumbent defeated Republican challenger Ryan Cummins for the House District 43 seat.
- Clay County's turnout one for record books Clay County’s voter turnout was one for the record books, officials said Tuesday evening.
- Parke County incumbents retain their seats Parke County incumbents retained their seats in Tuesday’s election. Republican County At-large Councilmen Dale Gerrish and John Pratt will be joined by fellow Republican J.B. Butler, a newcomer who received more votes than Gerrish and Pratt. The three GOP candidates won over the three Democrats in that race.
- Nearly 64 percent of registered Vermillion voters cast ballots Vermillion County voters turned out in big numbers Tuesday to hand victories to Democrats up and down the ballot. Nearly 64 percent of registered voters turned out in the mostly rural county, which includes the towns of Clinton and Newport.
- Sullivan County votes Repbulican in national election For the second time in its traditionally Democratic history, Sullivan County voted Republican in the national election. Overall, Democrats saw unexpected upsets, incumbent Republicans lost a few offices, and voter turnout here was exceptionally high, as expected.
- Indiana State students await impact of their votes Ashley Roce sat in the Cunningham Memorial Library eating pizza with her friends, waiting to see the impact of her first vote in a presidential election.
- Indiana transplants watch from east coast Indiana has done what couldn’t have been predicted in 2004: It has gone Blue — and by so doing, the Hoosier state has broken its 44-year tradition of being a Red state, and helped put a Democrat in the White House.
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Voter turnout in Clark County, Ill., highest it's ever been
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- Presidential election turnout down in Edgar County Despite an increase in registered voters for Tuesday’s election, turnout was lower than the last presidential election in Edgar County, Ill.
- Incumbents easily win school board seats Three Vigo County School Board incumbents readily won re-election Tuesday. In District 1, Mel Burks and Jackie Lower retained their seats, defeating Larry Faulkner. In unofficial results, Lower had 24,321 votes, Burks, 19,253, and Faulkner, 11,383.
- Democratic Commissioner Mason gets another four years Vigo County voters on Tuesday returned Democratic Commissioner Paul Mason for an additional four-year term as one of the county’s top executive officials.
- Rader wins Vigo judge Superior Court Divisioin 5 The winner of Vigo County judge for Superior Court Division 5 is Dr. Michael Rader. With 23,636 votes, or 56 percent, Rader defeated Republican challenger Dan Kelly, who earned 18,216 votes, or 44 percent. Totals are unofficial results from the Vigo County Election office.
- Allsup defeats Royer in Vigo Recorder race In a night that was friendly to Democrats, Nancy Allsup won the office of Vigo County Recorder, defeating Republican Bruce Royer. Allsup, with 26,486 votes, or 65 percent, celebrated her victory Tuesday night with friends and family at the Paradise Pavilion in West Terre Haute.
- Mansard wins another term as Vigo County clerk Democrat Patricia “Pat” Mansard has won another term as Vigo County clerk. Mansard, who has served as county clerk for 20 years, was busily working Tuesday night to finish up election results, but she took a minute to savor her win.
- FINAL: VIGO COUNTY ELECTION 2008 RESULTS Final election night results from Vigo County
- FINAL: VERMILLION COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS 2008 Election results from Vermillion County
- FINAL: CLAY COUNTY ELECTION 2008 RESULTS Election results from across Clay County
- FINAL: PARKE COUNTY ELECTION 2008 RESULTS Election results from Parke County
- FINAL: SULLIVAN COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS 2008 Results from Sullivan County
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NEW: Vigo County’s election record cited by Karl Rove
Karl Rove, the man credited with orchestrating President George W. Bush’s two successful campaigns for the presidency, reportedly singled out Vigo County as a place to watch tonight when election returns start coming in.
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