Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/10/19/drop-off-ballot-boxes-are-not-always-accessible-to-voters-with-physical-disabilities.html
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I can definitely say I got a new appreciation for some of the issues with accessibility when pushing a baby around town in a stroller. Sidewalks that are already narrow with signposts in the middle, street corners with curb cuts that face out diagonally instead of two cuts facing each crosswalk, walk buttons that are placed facing such that it is hard to push from a safe location. And as a relatively mobile adult I could lift the stroller over curbs or engage the stroller brakes on while I go push the walk button. But it made it very clear how hard some of that would have been if I were the in the stroller or a wheelchair.
It’s not even that it is impossible. Just you are continuously reminded that you are operating in a world where your needs are often an afterthought.
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I have a 4-month old, and have thought a lot about this as well! I’ve been cycling in Boston for 14 hours, so I’ve learned all those tricks and safe paths to travel. But strollers are a whole new game!
I’m pretty sure the one in the picture is easily accessible, however, as it’s the exact box where I dropped my ballot here in Boulder, Colorado- the one next to the courthouse on the Pearl Street Mall, which has lots of disability parking spaces, wide open sidewalks and curb ramps.
Drop-off boxes for ballots in New Jersey have only been in use since July 2020 for the statewide election. I don’t think her issue will be resolved this election cycle unless she’s been complaining since then. Sad but another 2020 reality.
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