Committee of Seventy - Voter Assistance and Alternate Ballots

You may vote by absentee ballot if you are unable to go to the polls because of illness or physical disability, yet you do not qualify as being handicapped under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The last day to apply for a civilian absentte ballot before the May 15, 2007 Primary is Tuesday, May 8. The County Board of Elections must receive your ballot by 5 pm on Friday, May 11 for your vote to count .

Voters Who Are Hearing Impaired

An Alternative Ballot maybe obtained for any election, upon your advance request of an Alternative Ballot Application. Alternative Ballot Applications may be obtained at the County Board of Elections in Room 142 City Hall or by contacting TTY/TDD through the AT&T Relay System. TDD users may utilize this service by calling 1-800-654-5984 and telling the communications assistant they want to speak to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Elections at (717) 787-5280.

Alternative Ballots by mail must be submitted to the County Board of Elections not later than 7 days before the election.

Alternative Ballot Applications must be returned to the County Board of Elections no later than the close of the polls, at 8:00 PM on Election Day, May 15, 2007

Additionally, registered electors with disabilities may cast their ballots in person at the County Board of Elections, in Room 142 City Hall up to the close of the polls on Election Day, May 15, 2007.

Voters Who Are Visually Impaired

Alternative Ballots by mail must be submitted to the County Board of Elections not later than 7 days before the election.

Alternative Ballot Applications must be returned to the County Board of Elections no later than the close of the polls, at 8:00 PM on Election Day, May 15, 2007.

The City shall provide registration materials in large print at each registration facility, and voting instructions in large print at each polling place.

Additionally, registered electors with disabilities may cast their ballots in person at the County Board of Elections, in Room 142 City Hall up to the close of the polls on Election Day.

Call the County Election Board at (215) 686-1500/1505 to determine if your designated polling place is accessible to someone in a wheelchair (many are not accessible because in some neighborhoods no accessible locations are available for voting).

If you use a wheelchair and your polling place is accessible, the voting machine will be lowered by the machine operator before you enter. When the machine is lowered the entire ballot is within your reach from the wheelchair. You will be able to vote without assistance unless you request it for some other reason.

You have the option of either voting at the city’s centralized handicapped accessible polling place in City Hall Room 142, or casting an alternative ballot.

Alternative ballots are a remedy for those who are assigned to a polling place which is not handicapped accessible. The threshold question is whether the voter is “disabled” as defined by the ADA or 65 years of age or older. If a person fits either category and their polling place is not fully compliant with the ADA, then the voter may cast an Alternative Ballot (In Philadelphia a small percentage of polling places meet the rigorous requirements of complete accessibility – minimum requirements for available parking, ramps, minimum door widths, etc. – because most of our buildings predate enactment of the ADA and out of necessity, many people vote in churches, commercial properties and even private homes). In Philadelphia , alternative applicants need not suggest that a physical condition prevents them from going to their assigned polling place to use an alternative ballot; they just need to sign the certification of eligibility. In other counties, the procedure may be different and applicants for alternative ballots should contact the Election Board to determine their individual eligibility.

Call or visit your County Board of Elections, and ask them for an alternative ballot application:

After filling out an application, the ballot will be mailed to you at a later date, or you can choose to pick it up in person. Ballot may be submitted via U.S. Postal Mail or hand-delivered by the alternative voter. Note: The County Board of Elections will not accept a hand-delivered alternative ballot from anyone other than the alternative voter (including family members of the voter), unless the person delivering the ballot has the alternative voters written authorization on the officially designated "Authorized Agent" form available from the County Board of Election.

Important dates: The deadline for requesting an alternative ballot is May 8 at 5:00 p.m. Alternative ballots must be received by the County Board of Elections by the close of polls at 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, May 15.

Voters who are 65 years of age or older are permitted by law to submit an alternative ballot if their polling place is not handicapped accessible. To determine whether or not your polling place is handicapped accessible, call the County Election Board at (215) 686-1505. If your polling place is handicapped accessible, you are encouraged to go cast your ballot in person. If it is not handicapped accessible, you have the option of either voting at the city’s centralized, handicapped accessible polling place in City Hall Room 142 or casting an alternative ballot.

In order to receive an alternative ballot application, call or visit your County Board of Elections:

Important dates: The deadline for requesting an alternative ballot is Tuesday, May 8 at 5:00 p.m. Alternative ballots must be received by the County Board of Elections by the close of polls at 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, May 15.

There is no legal requirement that a person be given such assistance. We recommend, however, that Philadelphia residents contact the Democratic City Committee (215) 241-7800, the Republican City Committee (215) 561-0650, your ward leader, or the campaign headquarters of a candidate you support.

For the Counties the major party contact numbers are as follows (if your local party office does not provide transportation for voters, you can seek the assistance of a candidate you are planning to vote for or in advance of the election investigate your eligibility to vote as an alternative voter based on age or disability):

Democratic Party: Bucks (215) 702-7467; Chester (610) 692-5811; Delaware (610) 566-6447; Montgomery (610) 272-2000

Republican Party: Bucks (215) 757-8000; Chester (610) 696-1842; Delaware (no number listed on website); Montgomery (610) 279-9300

1. A person is unable to read English or Spanish well enough to vote on their own (all Philadelphia ballots and the voting machine instructions above the ballot are printed in English and Spanish).
2. A person is physically incapable of operating the voting machine without assistance.

1. Poll workers can make the voting machine “kneel” to serve voters in a wheelchair.
2. Audio devices are now available for visually impaired voters who choose to vote without assistance.

You will be allowed to have another person assist you in voting if:
1. Your voter registration in the District Register Pollbook indicates YES in the ‘Assistance Permitted’ space, OR
2. You (and the person you choose to assist you) complete and sign a “Declaration of the Need for Assistance” at your polling place before you go inside a voting machine.

If you are qualified to receive assistance in voting, you choose the person to assist you (friend, spouse, child, etc.). Exception: you may NOT get assistance in voting from:
1. The Judge of Elections
2. Your employer, or an agent of your employer
3. An agent or officer of your union

To help prevent abuse of the voter assistance process, polling officials must fill out a “Record of Assisted Voters” form, which shows the voter’s name, the name of the person assisting the voter, and the reason for assistance.

Voters in need of assistance are generally helped by someone they know very well, normally a family member or close friend. As a result, if the same person is helping many voters (as evidenced by the Declarations required when assistance is given), this could be a case of improper influence.

While language and literacy barriers may cause a need for general assistance at the polling place (e.g. in determining registration and eligibility), voters may still be able to actually vote on their own. For instance, someone whose primary language is Spanish, may need language assistance to check in with the polling officials (if none of the officials speak Spanish), but once the voter has completed the sign-in process, he or she may be completely capable of voting independently because of the bilingual ballot.

For questions about your rights or the City's obligations to people with disabilities, please contact the Accessibility Compliance Office, or the City Commissioner's Office.

City Commissioner's Office: City Hall Rooms 130-134, Philadelphia, PA 19107, (215) 686-3460, 3461, 3464, 3467.

County Board of Elections: City Hall Rooms 142, Philadelphia, PA 19107, (215) 686-3469, 3943.