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In this special edition of the PandA Pod, we explore what to expect during the 2020 General Election process given the current public health crisis. Learn from NDRN’s voting rights experts about the rights of voters with disabilities, resources available to ensure the rights of voters are protected, and why every vote matters every election.
If you feel your rights as a voter with a disability have been violated, contact your state or territory P&A.
Transcript
Erika Hudson:
Awesome. We are back with the PandA Pod. Michelle, who is excited?
Michelle Bishop:
Whoop, whoop. You know I’m excited. PandA Pod is like my favorite thing.
Erika Hudson:
Heck yeah, we are back after I think seven months of not recording. I’m so excited to be here today for a special edition to talk about the 2020 elections and voters with disabilities. This is Erika Hudson, Public Policy Analyst with NDRN, and I’m joined by two absolutely incredible people who I will let introduce themselves. Michelle, hello.
Michelle Bishop:
Okay. First of all, I don’t know if I’d call us “back.” Like who’s in a closet right now recording this podcast because we’re still working from home? I know at least I am. This is Michelle Bishop, I am the Voter Access and Engagement Manager at NDRN. Hey y’all. Oh. As well as a proud cohost of the PandA Pod I should add. And we have a new guest with us on today. We are so excited to introduce the world to Jack Rosen. Jack, let the people know who you are.
Jack Rosen:
Hi, I’m Jack Rosen. I’m NDRN’s voter engagement specialist. I came on in May to help expand our GOTV efforts. And I am coming to you here from a carpeted room where I have all my devices off so they don’t go off during this.
Erika Hudson:
You are prepared. Oh my goodness. And Michelle, yes, I’m also currently sitting in the closet recording this, which is very exciting, and I’m pretty stoked to be here with both of you. Of course, we very much miss our fellow podcast host, Justice, who is incredibly busy with everything going on in the world, but I know she sends her best and we hope to have her as a fellow cohost very soon again, as we will continue this amazing podcast, which makes all my dreams come true in terms of being a podcast host.
Erika Hudson:
Before we get started, I just wanted to ask Michelle, would you have thought this is where we would be seven months ago when we recorded I think our first PandA Pod episode?
Michelle Bishop:
No. First of all, I’m sure everyone misses the joy of you, me, and Justice recording the PandA Pod in the office. So that’s literally two-thirds of the staff of NDRN could hear us laughing. I’m sure everyone misses that. And I miss bringing you guys Oreos to kick things off, but no.
Erika Hudson:
Me too.
Michelle Bishop:
It wasn’t that long before everything kicked off with COVID from us starting the PandA Pod to us being stuck at home without each other for months. This is the worst.
Erika Hudson:
I mean, honestly. And Jack, did you listen to that episode? Right? It was so weird. We were talking about voting and disaster planning. And now here we are sitting in our closets during a global pandemic with the 2020 general election quickly approaching.
Jack Rosen:
Yeah, definitely goes to show why disaster planning is important.
Michelle Bishop:
Guys. Jack started at NDRN during the pandemic.
Erika Hudson:
That’s a fun time to start a new job, for sure.
Michelle Bishop:
Jack started working from home and he has missed all the joy of us recording the PandA Pod in the office.
Erika Hudson:
That is incredibly sad.
Jack Rosen:
Yeah. I didn’t know I was supposed to get Oreos for doing this. No one told me. I’m going to hold you to that, Michelle.
Michelle Bishop:
I’m going to send you Oreos. They’re coming. I can get those on Postmates. Right? I feel like I can make that happen. I also assume that during the pandemic, Erika has watched all of Grey’s Anatomy.
Erika Hudson:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). You know it. Hello. That, and as I keep telling everyone on staff, I’ve been watching ER. That started back in the ’90s, I believe, so pretty exciting.
Erika Hudson:
I mean George Clooney there and everyone and everyone is fantastic. So that’s what I’ve been doing with my chilling at home for a while, to say the least, but grateful to be working with you all and still being able to have these important conversations throughout with everything else going on in the world.
Michelle Bishop:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s nice. Please tell me you made a plan [inaudible 00:04:34] voted. This is all I need to know.
Erika Hudson:
I appreciate that. Well, I’m super excited. I actually just voted today and instead of saying, “Hey, so glad you voted, Erika.” Michelle decided to tell me and call me out that my “I voted” sticker was upside down in the photo that I sent her. So that is where we are at in our relationship clearly.
Michelle Bishop:
I just feel like if you don’t want to be teased, don’t send me a picture of you holding an “I voted” sticker upside down.
Erika Hudson:
Okay. That is fair. But I was super excited. My vote plan was to submit my ballot or to get my ballot in the mail. And then I went to my local library and dropped it off in the ballot box. So I was super excited to do that today. And I couldn’t think of any better day to do that than the day we record our PandA Pod special edition talks about voting.
Michelle Bishop:
Okay, I also dropbox voted, and Fairfax County did not give me a sticker with my ballot. I know. I’m still upset about it. Any election’s official will tell you, the number one complaint of voters is if they don’t get a sticker, and I’m just going to say I’m part of the problem. I’m very upset when I don’t get my sticker.
Erika Hudson:
Obviously. Yes.
Jack Rosen:
You need the sticker.
Michelle Bishop:
Jack, have you voted yet in DC?
Jack Rosen:
I have not voted yet, but that’s because I am planning to vote on this Saturday, October 24th using a dropbox to celebrate Vote Early Day.
Michelle Bishop:
Yes. Go Vote Early Day. That’s a brand new day this year. That’s so exciting. Well, not October 24th. That exists every year, Vote Early Day is a brand new day.
Erika Hudson:
That’s like a joke I would make, Michelle. That’s amazing. I love it. That’s fantastic.
Michelle Bishop:
It only took about a year at the PandA Pod, but here you are rubbing off on me with your humor.
Erika Hudson:
I mean, you’re welcome is all I can say. Well wait, so Jack, tell us more. What is this day? The Vote Early Day. Probably when this podcast comes out, the day we’ll have past, but what was that day?
Jack Rosen:
So Vote Early Day is a new initiative this year, and they chose October 24th because by then early voting will have started in most states. It’s an initiative we’re involved with and proud to be supporting. And it’s just a movement to get people to cast their ballots early so that you can avoid the potentially the long lines on election day or just get your ballot in early in case you have a busy schedule during the following week. Don’t take any chances, get your ballot in ahead of time.
Michelle Bishop:
Yes. I love it. Voting early is where it’s at. Election Day is going to be a beast this year y’all.
Erika Hudson:
Oh my lanta, yes. And I would love to hear you Michelle and Jack, fill us in a little about what to expect in these next couple weeks. Just like you said, Michelle, it’s going to be a beast for various reasons. Just like touch base on that. Let us know. Because I don’t know a lot, admittedly. So what’s going on?
Michelle Bishop:
Well, anywhere where there’s early voting, we’re already seeing really long lines. Last I heard over 30 million people have already voted, and it could quite frankly be a lot more than that by now because I’m pretty sure I heard that number yesterday. So if you’re planning on voting early, there’s already been some long lines. You really want to plan ahead, pick your location carefully, and pick your timing carefully.
Michelle Bishop:
Because people are already waiting sometimes two, three hours in line to vote. At least around me. I’ve heard people waiting three hours or so to be able to vote. If you kind of plan ahead or you still have some time to get a vote by mail ballot, that you can drop in a dropbox. That’ll save you a lot of time. I’m also a dropbox voter. So I saw the people who are waiting in line for three hours, but I voted in 10 minutes and I have no regrets about that. So that’s one of the big things we’re seeing so far.
Michelle Bishop:
And there’s a lot of people who are still committed to voting on Election Day on November 3rd. So there’s a chance those lines are going to be really long, especially with COVID-19. We really have to social distance those voters. So if you imagine what some of those lines can look like in a regular election year, and then you take all those voters and put six feet in between them, you could be standing potentially a few blocks away from your polling place. We saw that during some of the primaries. So I think it’s going to be a little bit chaotic. It really pays off to make a plan to vote this year.
Jack Rosen:
Yeah. And when you’re making a plan, if you’re going to vote in person, you’re expecting long lines, also consider if there is anything you need to bring besides your mask and some hand sanitizer. Maybe you want to bring a snack or any important medications if you’re going to be standing in line for three hours, or even just a little book to help you pass the time.
Michelle Bishop:
Absolutely. I saw people with camping chairs, which I thought was the smartest thing I’ve ever seen. You can sit in line instead of stand. And I wanted to be like, teach me all you know about life person who thought to bring a camping chair with them when they went to vote. But yeah, people like watch movies on iPads, reading books. That’s smart. I always say you should bring a snack, maybe some Oreos,
Erika Hudson:
I was going to say, Oreos Double Stuff right there. That’s great. And this is super helpful. Michelle, you mentioned you voted by dropbox. I know I did. But one of the things that I’ve been hearing a lot about is what’s the difference between mail-in ballots with dropboxes and absentee ballots, right? There’s like a lot going on and I think… I mean, I know I’m still confused, right? Is there a difference between absentee and mail-in ballot?
Michelle Bishop:
There can be, and it’s so confusing because it really depends on your state. Some states use the words mail-in voting and absentee voting interchangeably. And in some states, there’s actually two different types of ballots. Like you could get an absentee ballot or a mail-in ballot, and they may not be the same. Some of the things that could be different about them in some states, if you have to have an excuse to vote in absentee and disability’s usually an excuse, a mail-in ballot may not require an excuse. So that can be real handy, especially if COVID-19 isn’t a reason where you are, and that’s why you want to vote absentee. But the important thing to know is they might have different deadlines or different options for how you can return them. In some states, whether or not you have an absentee or a mail-in ballot determines whether or not you can take it to your polling place or a dropbox, or if you have to put it in the postal mail for it to be delivered.
Michelle Bishop:
And you want to make sure you know those deadlines. If you have to mail it, does it have to be received by Election Day or postmarked by Election Day. All of that varies by state. So you really want to do your research and know what kind of ballot you’re applying for and what’s going to work for you.
Erika Hudson:
Yes. Why are things different state by state? Right? Like I know I have family in Indiana. They vote differently than what I’m doing here in Virginia. Can you explain like, why is it different and why it’s not just like the same thing for everyone who’s voting in the 2020 general election?
Michelle Bishop:
Well, almost all election laws are state laws. There’s very few federal laws about how we actually run our elections. So every state does their absentee voting traditionally a little bit differently. Some of them, you have to give a reason why you’re going to vote absentee. Maybe you have a disability or you’re going to be out of town or you’re like me and you work from before polls open until after they close on Election Day. But some states don’t require that.
Michelle Bishop:
So some of the states that require an excuse to vote absentee, had COVID-19 is a reason. Some of them created a separate mail-in ballots that you don’t have to have a reason for. It’s something quicker for them to do sometimes without a change in law to change how they regulate their absentee ballots. So it’s just kind of a confusing patchwork of state laws that determine what it looks like where you are. And to be honest, part of me sometimes wonders if some of these things are intentionally confusing because these laws can be really complicated. So you really just want to make sure you read up or you call your elections office, you know what your options are, and you know what you’re going to get.
Michelle Bishop:
I was just talking to Disability Rights Pennsylvania a couple days ago. And they were saying that they just got electronic absentee voting where you can have your ballot sent to you electronically if the paper’s not accessible to you, but it wasn’t ready to launch on time. So what it sounds like some counties in Pennsylvania are going to have it and some aren’t. So literally whether or not you can get your ballot electronically to vote by mail is determined not even by what state you’re in but by what county you’re in, in a place like Pennsylvania.
Michelle Bishop:
So you really want to make sure you’re going right to the source and talk to the elections officials in your county or your jurisdiction, so you know what your options are and what the rules are.
Erika Hudson:
Hot nugget. That’s a lot. Oh my gosh. Well.
Michelle Bishop:
When Erika says “hot nugget.”
Erika Hudson:
That’s the new word. Oh my gosh.
Michelle Bishop:
Hot nugget
Erika Hudson:
Yes. That’s a big phrase right there. I was going to ask Jack, are there any resources for people to find this information for their specific state? Like can I find something specific for Virginia?
Jack Rosen:
There are a few tools available to you. One of them and a very useful one is vote411.org. That’s a tool by the League of Women Voters Education Fund. And you can find out where your early voting and I believe ballot dropbox locations are, as well as your in-person polling place. In addition, if you have questions about your accessible voting options in your state, a great resource to turn to is the P&A network itself. Give your state’s P&A a call, they have a person who works full time or at least works on voting and elections accessibility issues. And they should be more familiar with your options in your state.
Erika Hudson:
Snaps to accessibility, right there. Goodness.
Michelle Bishop:
Co-sign on all of that. Cosign, definitely contact the P&A.
Erika Hudson:
Right. And Michelle, what do folks need to keep in mind in terms of access here during the 2020 general election? Are there protections in place for voters with disabilities? Like I know as someone who’s visually impaired myself, I really need the voting machine specifically to cast my ballot. Is that still going to be in place even with COVID and everything going on?
Michelle Bishop:
It better be so-
Erika Hudson:
Yes. Okay. Yes.
Michelle Bishop:
Right. Here’s the deal with that. Yeah. COVID is making how we run elections this year much harder, much more complicated. I really don’t envy our elections officials, but like I said, there are a few federal laws that apply to voting and a lot of our rights and protections as disabled voters come from those federal laws. So no matter what we’re going through with the pandemic, the Americans with Disabilities Act still applies. It says your polling place has to be accessible to you.
Michelle Bishop:
No matter what we’re going through with the pandemic, the Help America Vote Act still applies. And it says that you have the right to have private and an independent vote, and that that accessible equipment needs to be there for you to vote on. The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and the Handicapped Act still applies. And it says you have the right to request to move up in line, and that you have the right to an alternate means to access your ballot if you’re polling place is inaccessible, like accessible absentee voting. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 still applies. And it says that you have the right to the assistant of your choice. I mean, with the exception of your union rep or your employer, but you have the right to have anyone else you want assist you to cast your ballot.
Michelle Bishop:
All those rights still apply. COVID-19 or no COVID-19. So voting should still be accessible to you. And it really pays to know what your rights are to make sure they’re being enforced. Or like Jack was talking about, who you’re going to contact. I almost said, “Who are you going to call?” Because I’m an ’80s baby. Who are you going to contact if those rights aren’t being respected and if you’re having difficulty casting your ballot? So no matter what we’re going through with COVID, and it’s really taking its toll. We’re hearing in a lot of places, there will be fewer polling places because polling places are voluntary. And some of them just can’t serve as polling sites this year. We’re hearing about fewer poll workers, because that’s also a voluntary position and poll workers who are high risk for COVID-19 complications can’t necessarily serve this year. So it’s difficult. It’s taxing.
Michelle Bishop:
That said we’re also hearing some good things. I was just talking to our coworker, Amy at NDRN, and she was saying she had a different polling place when she went to vote early this year because of the pandemic. And it was actually easier for her to get to and more accessible than her old polling place. So it’s not all doom and gloom. You just want to make sure you know how you’re going to vote and how you’re going to access that. If you’re going to the polls, how are you going to get there? Has the location changed? Is it accessible to you? What type of equipment should be set up when you get there? You just want to know that in advance and be ready to vote, but yeah. Your rights, your civil rights under federal law, they still apply whether or not there’s a pandemic.
Erika Hudson:
Yes. Clap to that. Thank you, Michelle. And I think exactly what you said. All of our rights still apply even given our current health crisis. And question, who you going to call? Is that Ghostbusters? Is that what that is? Or…
Michelle Bishop:
That’s always Ghostbusters. Wait. I’m sorry. Are you asking because you may not have seen Ghostbusters?
Jack Rosen:
Yeah. Wait.
Erika Hudson:
I saw Casper the Ghost. That was a good one. I remember that as a kid.
Michelle Bishop:
Not in any way the same thing. You’ve never seen Ghostbusters?
Jack Rosen:
Not even the-
Erika Hudson:
I do think so… No, I think I saw the new one though, with Melissa McCarthy, right? Or am I making that up?
Michelle Bishop:
Guys, this broadcast is over. I’m sorry.
Jack Rosen:
I don’t know if I could continue due to creative differences here.
Erika Hudson:
Oh, this is awkward. Side note, love Melissa McCarthy. She’s amazing. Okay. Well, I guess I need to get on that.
Michelle Bishop:
If you are new to the PandA Pod, you need to know that Erika grew up in Sweden. So she maybe missed out on some American cultural phenomenon. It is a running gag on the show, and now we’ve just discovered it.
Erika Hudson:
Well, I feel like I did know. I did ask, was it Ghostbusters? And I take that as a yes. So I somewhat know what’s going on. I’m with the cool kids. That’s me, I guess. That went down a path that we don’t need to address.
Erika Hudson:
Continue moving on, but really appreciate what you all had to add there. And especially emphasis, like if we do have any problems, right? When we go to the polls and we vote, we call the protection and advocacy network, right? And where can we find all that information by chance?
Jack Rosen:
You can find it on the NDRN website. Go to ndrn.org/voting. There’ll be an option on that page to find your local P&A. In addition, I just want to plug one other helpful resource though. If for some reason you get to the polling place and an elections official is telling you, “Oh, we don’t have the accessible equipment,” or for some other reason is not letting you vote even though you know you’re a registered voter. It’s also important to call the election protection hotline, which is done by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. And you can reach them at 866-OUR-VOTE. You can call or text. They also have a chat function on their website: 866ourvote.org. There’s also protection hotlines offered in Spanish, Arabic, as well as several Asian languages, including Cantonese, Urdu, as well as others. So those are all worth checking out. Oh, as well as the ASL voter hotline to assist those who use ASL as their primary method of communication.
Michelle Bishop:
Yes. From our friends at National Association of the Deaf, and to all this Jack, I say, hot nuggets.
Erika Hudson:
Yes. I love that I have an influence here with different expressions that are being used. Love it, hot nugget, clap. Like all the way.
Michelle Bishop:
And exciting about election protection, they’ve added some options that are not phone based. If for any reason calling on the phone just isn’t your jam. Maybe you’re that person like me who will pay extra money to use an app because you’re terrified of calling to order takeout, but it might also be people who are deaf and hard of hearing, people who have anxiety, autistic people, someone with a speech impairment, whatever your reason may be, election protection has added a chat feature through their website as well as a texting feature. So if you check out their website, 866ourvote.org, they have those options there for you as well.
Erika Hudson:
So important. Thanks so much to both of you for flagging that. Oh wow. This has been super helpful. I know we all talk a lot and given everything that’s happening in the world, I really appreciate having a positive conversation about the 2020 elections. There’s so much surrounding it. And I know a lot of people talk about it every day and it’s kind of hard almost to escape the conversation for various reasons. But I do want to ask you two as experts. What if someone said to you here in the next couple of days or weeks leading up to November 3rd, “Well, my vote doesn’t matter, so I’m not going to vote.” If you could say anything all, what’d that be? I’m curious.
Jack Rosen:
I would say that there are so many races up this year, beyond just the presidential race. There are senators and governors and members of Congress on the ballot. There are members of state legislatures all the way down to town board members. And I can promise you that many of those races, the people elected will have very, very real impact on your day to day life, especially some of the races more at the local level. There’s also a number of ballot propositions up this year that will have a real impact on people. So there’s a million reasons to vote, but you got to find the race that really excites you to turn out.
Michelle Bishop:
I think that’s true. And I’d add to that. You know, if you turn on the news or hop online and check out what’s going on around voting rights and all the arguments about things like voter fraud and voter suppression and all the things that are being done to try to determine who gets to vote. There are people out there who are working actively right now on closing down polling places, coming up with really strict laws for the type of ID you need. A lot of time and money goes into trying to stop you from voting. If your vote didn’t matter, if your vote didn’t make a difference, why would all these people waste all their time and money on trying to stop you from voting? Because the truth is not that your vote doesn’t have any power. It’s that your vote is more powerful than you can even imagine. Why would you let anyone stop you from using it? There’s just no reason to give up now and let anyone stop you from using the powerful voice that you have.
Erika Hudson:
Hot nugget. Oh my lanta. I really don’t know what to say after hearing that from both of you. Thank you. Wow. Yep. That’s it. I mean, I couldn’t have said it nor will I say it any better than the two of you just did. So to summarize there’s so much going on and there’s so much at stake. So thank you both for everything that you do to get out the vote and everything else that you do every day. Amazing people. Anything else you all want to say here before we hit November 3rd and before, hopefully we come back in a few weeks and do a recap of the 2020 general election? Anything else that I forgot to ask you all today that would probably be helpful to our listeners?
Jack Rosen:
Just if you want to vote early, there’s no better day than today. Get your ballot in as early as you can so that you can avoid the long lines or any confusion on Election Day.
Michelle Bishop:
All right. I don’t know if this is helpful for our listeners, but I want to say to our absent cohost Justice Shorter, I know you had to miss out on the broadcast today, but girl, you better vote. Don’t let me find out you didn’t vote. I’m watching for you.
Erika Hudson:
Great. I say that too, oh my goodness. Yeah. So in summary of today’s podcast, Oreos are delicious. Hot nugget is the new phrase, and make sure you have a vote plan and go out and vote in the 2020 general election. Every vote counts. And it’s so important. And if you have any questions or if you have any concerns, be sure to check out NDRN’s website, ndrn.org and find your state’s or local protection and advocacy agency to ensure that your right as a voter is being protected.
Erika Hudson:
And with that, we want to say thank you to everyone who helped make this podcast happen. Michelle and Jack, thank you for all that you do every single day to get out the vote and protect everyone’s right to vote. Thanks to Tina, our fearless leader, for helping us pull this together in such a short timeline before the general election happens on November 3rd. And with that, thanks so much and remember to stay cool. That’s what people say now. No. Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters, that’s going to be our tagline out. That was awkward. Excellent. Bye guys.
Michelle Bishop:
Thanks y’all. Have a good day. Remember to vote November 3rd!
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