Voters with Special Needs

Miami-Dade County has made provisions to ensure everyone, including voters with disabilities, has the ability to cast their vote. Every polling location will be ADA accessible.  Every polling location will also have an ADA touchscreen machine offering an audio ballot specifically for voters with vision or reading impairments.  For voters with other disabilities, the ADA touchscreen machine also has the capability to offer an audio-assisted touchscreen ballot.  For those voters who wish to vote on the new optical equipment, ADA privacy booths will also be available at every polling location.

Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act
The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984 requires polling places to be physically accessible to people with disabilities for federal elections. This law also requires availability of information by telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDDs), which are also known as teletypewriters (TTYs).

• All polling places are are handicap accessible.
• Absentee Voting is available to all voters upon proper request.
• Accessible telecommunication is available at 305-499-8480 (voice/TTY.)

The National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also known as the "Motor Voter Act," makes it easier for everyone to exercise their fundamental right to vote. One of the basic purposes of the Act is to increase the historically low registration rates of minorities and persons with disabilities.

The Motor Voter Act requires all offices of state-funded programs that are primarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities to provide all program applicants with voter registration forms, to assist them in completing the forms, and to transmit completed forms to the appropriate state official. For more information, contact 305-499-8363.

Voter Registration is available at the following public institutions:

• Department of Motor Vehicles (Driver License Offices.)
• Public Libraries.
• Youth and Family Services (Public Assistance Offices.)

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its subsequent amendments are designed to ensure every citizen entitled to vote can both register to vote and have access to his or her polling site—both physical accessibility and ballot accessibility.

Physical accessibility includes not only accessible entrance into a voting precinct, but also physical access to a polling booth. Ballot accessibility includes ballots that do not discriminate against blind or visually impaired individuals as well as individuals who are unable to read English.

• All polling places are equipped with at least one (1) ADA accessible voting machine .
• All ballots and election-related materials are available in three languages: English, Spanish and Creole.

• Polling places are staffed with bilingual workers to provide voter assistance.
• Voters may choose an individual to assist them with voting.

Per F.S. 101.051, an elector needing assistance in voting will need to fill out a Declaration to Secure Assistance (please refer to sample below).  If an elector needing assistance requests that a person other than an election official provide him or her with assistance in voting, the individual helping will need to fill out a Declaration to Provide Assistance (please refer to sample below).

• Declaration to Secure Assistance (sample) 
• Declaration to Provide Assistance (sample)