If you can talk the talk, if you can walk the walk, but if you cannot vote the vote! You ain’t living in a Democracy
Maharashtra Assembly Elections 200413th October 2004 Maharashtra Assembly Elections was the most awaited event for the disabled especially those residing in Maharashtra. This election was to be the first among its kind in India.
This election was directly after the April 2004 general Elections of Lok Sabha. An earlier court order by the Supreme Court dated 17th April 2004 stated amongst other things that
the ensuing Maharashtra elections should provide ramps at every polling booth
make arrangements for the use of Braille for visually impaired to cast their votes.
Public Interest Litigation was filed by the Disability Rights Group Bombay for getting the aforesaid order of the Supreme Court implemented. The Bombay High Court passed an order that stated:
Braille " facility in around 9000 booths in Mumbai and Thane as a pilot project. Depending on the success, the same facility could be provided in all the polling booths in the entire State of Maharashtra.”
…..to direct chief election commissioner, State of Maharashtra and Union of India to ensure that facility of ramps be provided in every election booth for physically disabled persons.
shall not be required to stand in queue and they shall have priority over all other voters in entering the polling booths, that the disabled voters shall be allowed facility of a companion of their choice to assist them in entering the booth and in casting their vote, and assistance shall also be provided by the staff on duty to transfer the wheelchair of a wheelchair using voter inside the booth.
Braille dummy sheets were provided at the designated 9000 polling booths in and around Mumbai and Thane Districts. This was due to the efforts of N.A.B. and Hellen Keller Institutes that prepared the dummy sheets and dispatched the same to the electoral authorities on ‘war-footing’.
For the very first time the Blind were able to cast their votes in the true spirit of “secret ballot” they now had the opportunity of reading the list of candidates on the dummy ballot paper, selecting the candidate to vote for and pressing the right button on the Electronic voting machine.
Picture they say more than a thousand words.
| | There's A First Time For Everything: Visually challenged Ketan and Mukta Kothari are beaming with pride at the polling booth at Mughal Lane, Matunga. The couple is voting for the first time in their lives |
| | Step By Step: Seeing that Ketan is unsure of the procedure, poll booth attendants are more than happy to help him out. Here he ‘reads’ the ballot form he has been given and says he loved the sound of his name being called out |
| | On The Dot: Mukta, meanwhile, sails through the preliminaries and finally gets the much-coveted dot on her finger. Although she can’t see it, she says she is thrilled just knowing it is there |
| | And The Deed Is Done: Ketan drops his precious ballot paper into the box provided. He says he will never forget October 13, the day he voted for the very first time |
| | So, who did they vote for? Mukta won’t tell. But she’s positive her vote will make a difference... |
However, for persons with physical impairments voting at this Elections was as nightmrishas any other elections. The High Court order of installing ramps at every polling booth was completely ignored. There were no ramps at all. No polling booth had ramps. Wheel-chair and crutch-users were left at the mercy of strangers to get to the polling booth. A wheelchair-bound Neenu Kewlani’s experience at the same station was not as bright as Kothari though. She was let down with the absence of any ramp at the polling station. “I feel so disappointed,” said Kewlani, who had to wait for over 10 minutes outside the polling station, before a few constables arrived and lifted her wheelchair into the room. “It is not a nice feeling to be hauled by strangers and create such a big tamasha,” said Kewlani. “If the government itself ignores directives by the court to make the polling stations disabled friendly, will the larger society ever learn to care?” Kothari echoed her sentiment. Presiding officer at the Mughal Lane Polling center, Shubhada Arte, pleaded helplessness. “We were provided with Braille ballots, but were not informed about providing ramps,” she said.
This apathy was visible at all polling booths none of the Presiding Officer was informed to install ramps at their respective polling booths.
33-year-old, Jasmina Khanna went to cast her vote on Oct 13, she was in for rude shock. On a wheelchair, she couldn’t climb up the stairs to the ballot booth situated on the first floor.
Worst still, as promised, there was no ramp. “I had to ask for help to take me there. And the ballot box was so high that someone had to bring it down to me. What about my right to voting with privacy and dignity?” she asks.
Nilesh Singit much to his dismay found that the polling station had no ramp and it was on the first floor. Unable to negotiate the stairs (stares) asked the ‘staff on duty’ to assist him to get to the first floor. He was refused help on the grounds that “it was not the duty of the staff to carry people up-n-down” “I manged with the help of friends and strangers to get to the first floor, however found that none of the staff were aware of the High Court order”.
Activism in Rest of India
Disability Rights Group had taken up a major campaign before the General Elections 2004 to make the voting process disabled friendly, which included several dharnas, gheraos, and even fast unto death by our Convenor, Shri Javed Abidi. Finally, the Chief Justice of India converted our letter into a PIL and gave an interim Order on 16th April 2004, which categorically directed the States to provide wooden ramps at the polling stations. At that time not only the Amicus Curae, who was appointed by the Supreme Court, but also the Election Commission, stated that they will “put the system in place” for making the voting disabled friendly for the visually impaired before the next elections.
Disability Right Groups in Maharashtra followed up with the State Election Commission there. When they did not get any positive response, DRG in Mumbai filed a PIL in the Mumbai High Court. In New Delhi, we were building pressure on the Election Commission through letters, etc. We organised a Dharna on 28th September 2004, which resulted in a meeting with Shri A.N. Jha, Deputy Election Commissioner. The very next day, on 29th September 2004, we organised a meeting of the activists of the visual impairment sector with the EC, to discuss to various prototypes developed by them, in order to make the EVMs friendly to the voters with visual impairment.
On 1st October 2004 the EC organised a ‘test’ of the prototypes in Hyderabad. It was unanimously decided that the EVM with Braille numerics (so that the visually impaired person can feel the numbers and make out as to which number is for which candidate, and then press the button accordingly to cast his/her vote) was really the best option. Shri A.N. Jha, Deputy Election Commissioner was present at the ‘test’.
The election commission finally made a decision on 5th October 2004 that the EVMs to be used in the current bye-elections in the 213 Asif Nagar assembly constituency in Andhra Pradesh shall have stickers pasted to the right of the blue button (candidate’s button) denoting the serial numbers of the candidates in Braille. Dummy ballot sheets will also be prepared and kept at the polling booths, containing the serial numbers of the contesting candidate, their names and the party affiliation against the name of the candidate. These dummy ballot sheets in Braille, will be prepared in English, Telugu and Urdu.
There were elections in Arunachal Pradesh, the eastern most state in India one day before Mahrashtra. The protests in New Delhi and Maharashtra reached one of the most tribal areas of India and the disabled too demanded that like the rest of the nation “Ramps” at all polling booths and did get assurances from the state Election Commissioner only to be disappointed later.
Campaign
Internet was used extensively to gather support. Yahoogroups experienced a blitzkrieg of emails supporting the cause. The Chief Election Commissioner’s office too was bombarded with round the clock faxes supporting the cause of the rights of disabled voters. Print and Electronic media too lent their able support by regularly printing / airing articles and new items.
Conclusion
Ramps were not installed at any polling booth in Maharashtra or Arunachal Pradesh. There is a long way to go yet. The Disability sector is fragmented blind for blind etc., This was a national issue that cut across all barriers. The right to franchise, The right to vote. And all the organisations groups came together as one and campaigned and fought a battle united, the results are for all to see.!!
However, these are indeed major breakthroughs! For the first time in the history of independent India, the visually impaired voters will be able to exercise their franchise in an independent and dignified manner!
This forum was attended by many Disability Organisations and groups; National Association for the Blind, Blind Man’s Association, Fellowship of the Physically Handicapped, NASEOH, Blind Hawkers Association to name a few.
There was a consensus amongst all the groups present that the disabled have the right to vote with dignity and voting should be by secret ballot. The Election commission should comply with the Supreme Court order and install ramps at polling booth and make it accessible to voters with physical impairment. The group also reiterated that the electronic voting machines should have Braille for the visually impaired.
Another important agenda of this meeting was to have political parties include disability issues in their manifestos. It is amazing that despite 57 years of independence and a population that constitutes of six to seven percent of its citizen who are disabled, the politicians have not included the disabled in their systematic and elaborate plans of action. Some manifestos do include disability but their approach is that of giving charity to disabled rather than upholding their rights. Disabled are a minority cutting across all strata of society segregated from all mainstream activities from time immemorial.
The members representing various political parties were people with disability. These representatives assured the disabled that they will look at disability as an issue and have their party heads to incorporate it in their respective manifestos.
Voting in Ameria : A Lesson for 2009 Loksabha Elections
America too went to the polls in December 2004 right after the elections in Maharashtra. So there was a lot of build up towards the Presidential elections. As every one is aware anything of Importance in America is all over the media be it Michael Jackson escapades with children or the more serious matters as the elections. So the exlections this time were a bit different as the persons with disability for the first time looked as a vote bank
HEADLINES
Kerry Addressing Disability Issues Better Than Bush, National Organization on Disability/Harris Survey Finds October 8, 2004
America's 40 Million Voters with Disabilities are an Important Swing Vote June 1, 2004
It is even rumoured that the difference the disabled vote made in electing G. W. Bush jr. for the second term.
“Many Americans with disabilities are attuned to the legislative and political processes because they recognize that achieving the changes that will improve their lives in policies and practices can’t be left to chance. They will vote for candidates who incorporate their priorities as they address the needs of the nation,” Mr. Reich said.
Of the nation’s more than 54 million persons with disabilities, roughly 40 million are of voting age according to the Census Bureau, and approximately 40 percent, or 16 million of those individuals, voted in 2000, according to a poll conducted by Harris Interactive in November 2000.
“We’re not raising this issue for partisan reasons,” Reich said, “but for practical ones. It’s a reality check for all candidates to remind them that the American public includes the many voices of persons with disabilities, that those individuals vote, and that their votes matter. They belong to all parties, and many vote based on issues quite distinct from their disability experience. But candidates who reach out to this community with solid, effective proposals, and who demonstrate a comfort and familiarity with disability issues, will catch the attention of this potentially critical voting bloc.”
While voter activity within the disability community has steadily improved, people with disabilities continue to experience a lack of access to voter registration services, polling places, voting machines and ballots.
Participation of people with disabilities is also affected by court cases involving disability law, legislative and judiciary appointments, and representation of disability issues in areas such as emergency preparedness and law enforcement.
No candidate for president would logically overlook one-fifth of the nation’s voting-aged population. That massive slice of the electoral pie comprises the roughly 40 million Americans with disabilities who are 18 and over. Though not as cohesively identified nor traditionally courted as other minority groups, the disability vote is one that politicians ignore at their peril.
The 2000 presidential election proved the significant role voters with disabilities play. In the previous presidential election in 1996, only about a third of people with disabilities voted, but turnout was 41 percent in 2000, according to an N.O.D./Harris poll conducted at the time. Grassroots “Get out the disability vote” efforts deserve much of the credit. So do organized campaigns to ensure that people with disabilities were informed of their right to register and vote; efforts to ensure that service providers met their legal requirement to offer their clients the opportunity to do so; community efforts to make polling places and voting machines more accessible; and, one can assume, the issues and positions that the candidates presented to voters.
What if people with disabilities had voted at the same rate as other Americans – 51 percent — while their split on the candidates remained constant? Bush would then have had 7.7 million votes to Gore’s 11.4 million from this community. The gap between them would have increased by only about 720,000 votes, but that would have more than doubled Gore’s popular vote lead. Well under a thousand votes would have tipped Florida’s final count. In fact, if only Florida voters with disabilities had turned out at the same rate as other Florida voters, the Supreme Court would never have had a case to decide.
If people with disabilities voted at the rate of other Americans, Gore would have had a more decisive victory in the popular vote and won the electoral college. By contrast, if people with disabilities had voted with the same split for the candidates but at the lower rate they did in 1996 (33 percent), Bush would have narrowly won the popular vote as well as securing the Electoral College.
Disability service agencies can play an important role in making it easier for people with disabilities to register and vote. They can help ensure that people with disabilities participate in electoral politics in two main ways. First, agencies can vigorously implement the requirements of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (or as it is commonly called, the Motor Voter Bill) which requires disability service providers to offer registration to their consumers. Second, nonprofit agencies that provide services to people with disabilities can encourage voting by transporting consumers to the polls, providing information about candidates' positions on campaign issues, and taking other steps to increase turnout. In this article, we review the requirements of the Motor Voter Bill and the tax code provisions which allow nonprofit agencies to engage in voter turnout activities.
So why does voting matter to those of us involved in self-advocacy? Here’s why. Public officials decide how much funding goes to public transportation. Public officials decide how much funding goes to affordable housing. Public officials decide how much funding goes to work programs. Public officials decide how much funding goes for Personal Care Assistance. It definitely matters who gets elected. Elected officials make decisions based on their values. We need to elect people with values similar to ours, who believe in independence, real jobs, affordable housing, and accessible public transportation. For example, in Minnesota, millions of dollars in public transit funding are on the chopping block. While funding for mass transit gets slashed, highway funding is increasing. “People who drive cars are seen as voters, those of us who take the bus are seen as non-voters”, says self-advocate Carol Robinson. “We need to let elected officials know that we vote and that they better pay attention to us. If we had more political power, public transit would not be at risk every year.”
Perhaps elected officials do share our values but there just isn’t enough money for our issues. Oftentimes, when officials say there is no money it is because they have decided there is no money. It is a values issue, based on what they feel is most important. When we look at any of the issues facing Americans it all boils down to values. People with disabilities value independence, jobs, housing, transportation, and relationships. We look to elected officials to take actions to assure that our rights to live, work, and participate in our communities are protected.
So how do we decide who to vote for? We need to first know our values and then find candidates who have similar values. “You need to have issues you care about in order to know who to vote for,” says Carol Robinson. “You need to dig down deep and know your values, and then you can match your issues and values to candidates.” Carol helps others with disabilities clarify their values at disability rights conferences, asking them to create personal collages that represent what is important to them. “Once people take the time to reflect on their values and priorities, it’s a starting point for figuring out who to vote for,” she says.
Once we know our values, how do we choose among the candidates? Not by watching television. Television ads favor the best-looking candidates with the most money. “There is no way you will be able to figure out who to vote for by watching ads on TV. You need to get involved with issues you care about and go from there,” says Carol. She does not cast her vote based on a single issue, but she does have a few issues she keeps her eye on. “It’s just too confusing to try to follow all of the issues. I care about affordable housing and public transportation; these are my top issues. When I find candidates who will work hard for issues that affect poor people I usually find that their votes match my values on other issues, too.”
It’s helpful to see voting as one step of a larger process. It is not the first step and it is not the last step. It’s right in the middle. Before this step are getting informed, talking to others, clarifying our values, and pushing our candidates to take strong stands on the issues. After the voting process are dealing with the election results, continuing to press for our issues, and planning for next time. It is this whole process that is motivating to so many self-advocates. Simply voting is not turn me on; It’s about being active, getting involved in the issues that affect us, and finding elected officials who really work for our community. That’s what it’s all about. Voting is just one little part of getting involved and having our voices heard.”
The late disability advocate and “Father of the ADA,” Justin Dart, used to tell people, “Vote as if your life depends on it. Because it does.” Many have responded to that call in the past, and a variety of advances will make it possible for more to in the future. The Help America Vote Act of 2002, advances in voting machine technology, and the enforcement of polling place compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act are making the voting process ever more accessible. Americans with disabilities made the 2000 election a close one. If they had split their vote differently or gone to the polls in different numbers, history might have been changed. In 2004, with another close election likely, voters with disabilities will play an important role again.
My Vote
By Jeffery Ridgeway
They say I can’t vote.
They say the decision is not mine.
They say I don’t understand.
I guess they think they’re being kind.
I wonder what they would say or think if they only knew
that when they call the President “Our President,”
I want to call him mine, too.
If I never get the chance to vote –
pulling the lever, punching the card or writing his name down –
I stay the same – dumb, misinformed, unchanged, un-empowered.
That is what this world expects me to be.
But I want so much more!!!
I want to be the most educated – the most informed –
the most totally changed – the most totally empowered person I can be when I vote.
I can make a difference and then I can say with pride,
“Not yours,
not theirs,
but my President
because I helped put him there.”
