How to Know If Your Voting Rights Have Been Violated

Lake County Center for Independent Living in Mundelein has a mission to empower people with disabilities to lead self-directed lives as values members of the community. Part of how we do that is through our Get Out the Vote Committee to educate people with disabilities about the voting process, their voting rights, and registering them to vote.

Your rights have been violated if you are a person with a disability, you want to vote in either a state or federal election, and:

• Voting is conducted at a polling place which is not accessible, unless no such place can be located or there is an emergency.

• The county cannot find an accessible place, and fails to publish a notice stating that the election will be held in an inaccessible place.

• You cannot vote at an “accessible” polling place because of unforeseen events occurring there or because its structure prevents your entry, and the voting judges fail to bring you a ballot at the nearest accessible point outside the facility.

• You need certain aids to enable you to register or to vote, but the election authority fails to provide those aids.

• The election authority fails to provide an accessible facility to register to vote, or fails to let you register by mail.

• You need help in reading or marking the ballot, and you are not allowed to bring a person of your choice into the voting booth to assist you.

• You are a resident of a nursing home or are hospitalized, and unable to go to the polls, and you are denied the opportunity to have a ballot brought to you at the nursing home or the hospital, provided you follow the proper procedures.

What You Can Do if Your Voting Rights Have Been Violated

If you experience any of the situations above, you can call your county clerk’s office or visit their website for voting information, questions about state voting laws, and complaints about voter fraud and voter’s rights issues.

The Lake County Clerk’s website is http://countyclerk.lakecountyil.gov/ElectionInfo/Voter-Services/Pages/default.aspx and their telephone number is 847-377-2410.

They can also provide contact information to your attorney general’s Help America Vote Act investigators, who will vigorously investigate your voter complaints.

Don’t forget to program the Lake County Clerk’s phone number 847-377-2410 into your cell phone and USE IT if you have questions or issues on one of the most important of days in America – November 4!