During the August primary election, Sabrina Rice tried three voting machines over a two-hour span in an attempt to cast her ballot. Yet, she said she was unable to do so without assistance.
Rice, who has been blind for 14 years, said she showed up Aug. 4 with high hopes, but also knowing she’d struggled so often in the past to cast her ballot with a Voter Access Terminal (VAT) that the poll workers themselves were skeptical that it would function.
“I went to my precinct with the great desire to vote independently, only to my disappointment did I leave there without being able to vote (without help),” said Rice. “This is a recurring incident.”
Rice was among the Detroiters from the blind community who spoke out during public comment at Tuesday’s City Council session, urging the city to do better and calling for assurances that this November will yield a different experience. VAT machines are designed to allow visually impaired individuals to vote privately and independently.
Richard Clay, a grassroots leader and president of Detroit Advocates of the Blind, called it a “travesty” that the VAT machine he attempted to use wasn’t working and added, “It’s a violation of our civil rights.”
“We’re here today because we’ve been trying to work those things out since the last election,” said Clay, noting that hundreds of not only blind people but others with disabilities have to use those machines and cannot.
Stephen Handschu, also with Detroit Advocates of the Blind, said the issue has been a struggle endured by the community for years and it’s still being fought – with a lack of training for VAT setup and use at the polls and unreliability of the machines.
“I am rarely speechless, but it’s hard to even begin to describe what it is not to be able to vote independently and secretly as you do as citizens of this country,” he said. “There is no excuse.”
In a Tuesday statement to BridgeDetroit, the Detroit Department of Elections said there is a Voter Assistance Terminal at all of the city’s 158 polling locations. There are also additional machines in reserve that can be used as needed.
The Department of Elections said complaints about VATs aren’t made often. But when they are received, a team is quickly dispatched to the polling site to rectify it. The team either resolves the issue with the machine or replaces it with one of the department’s VAT reserves, according to the statement.
“Also on Election Day, we have teams that visit different polling locations across the city to ensure that all voting, including assisted voting, is running smoothly and efficiently for all Detroiters,” the statement adds.
The clerk’s office has faced accessibility questions ahead of the 2025 city election, in 2024 and in 2022. The nonprofit advocacy group Detroit Disability Power has conducted multiple surveys of polling sites. Last year, the group found there were widespread barriers to accessibility, including entrances and doorways, with 70% of the individuals surveyed reporting problems with VATs.
Kaci Pellar, a policy manager for Detroit Disability Power, said the VAT machines offer great technology when they are set up correctly. But in Detroit, Pellar said, she has often found that the machines are not set up correctly or that poll workers aren’t properly prepared to help voters use them.
“…when it (a VAT machine) does not work or is not set up to be operational, it is an impediment to civil rights and federal voting laws,” Pellar said.
The elections office said Tuesday that a specialist trained by elections office staff on use of the VAT machines and assisting voters is assigned to each city polling location.
“Their role on Election Day is to assist any differently abled voter cast their ballot,” the statement adds. The Department of Elections also noted a dedicated Americans with Disabilities Act call center that’s available on Election Day to report an issue with a VAT.
Council President James Tate is a member of the city’s election commission, alongside Detroit Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett and City Clerk Janice Winfrey. He said he takes the concerns very seriously, as did several other members of the council, including members serving on the Disability Task Force.
Tate said Tuesday was the first time he’s heard the comments directly and in depth, and he won’t allow it to pass by. “This is not just public comment but testimonies,” he said.
District 6 Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero said better VAT training is needed and she wants to hear more about plans to facilitate training improvements to ensure that there are enough working terminals on Election Day to make sure that people with disabilities are able to vote independently.
Council Member Denzel McCampbell, who represents District 7 and serves on the Disability Task Force, said, “It’s dire that we do get this solved for folks ahead of the November general election because some of the things we heard today are absolutely unacceptable.”
Rice said that she began voting at 18 and never stopped, but the VAT issues have prevented her from casting her ballot in secrecy through no fault of her own.
“Nobody should be able to see who I vote for, and I have a problem with that,” Rice said.
